When Dreams Come True
by JSRobertson
Summary: After being on leave for six months, Lee is sent on an ONI mission, while a disturbing dream has Janet on edge. Could the two be connected?
1. Chapter 1

When Dreams Come True

By JSRobertson

It had been a busy day at NIMR, more so than most with a lot of work that had to get done. Looking at the stack of documents still requiring his attention Admiral Harriman Nelson sighed discouraged. In addition to that load he still needed to meet with his command team to discuss upgrades to his research submarine Seaview. Knowing that this topic would require more time to discuss than was allotted in his schedule he called Chip and Lee to his office ahead of schedule.

"I know we were going to meet later this afternoon regarding some upgrades to _Seaview_," the admiral said looking at his watch, "It's already 1600 hours, I still have a few important phone calls to make and I think our discussion is going to take longer than we planned. Can we meet at 1900 hours for dinner at Rafaela's? I know its short notice but I really want to get your opinion on these upgrades," he asked them.

"Yes sir," they both replied.

"Will that be a problem with Janet?" the admiral wondered.

"No sir. I'll tell her to go home and make dinner for herself," Lee told the admiral.

"Thanks men. I really appreciate it."

Leaving the admiral's office, they headed down the hall to Janet's office so he could break the news to her. "Sweetie, the admiral wants to meet with Chip and me regarding some upgrades to _Seaview_ tonight at dinner. We've been so busy today that we didn't have a chance to meet during the day. We're meeting at 1900 hours. You can take the car and I'll have Chip drive me home after the meeting."

Looking up from her computer, "Okay, no problem. I'll make something to eat when I get home," she said smiling at her husband. "I'll stop by before I leave. Don't work too late."

((()))

Rafaela's was a fairly new restaurant and pretty crowded for a weeknight but they were able to get a table in the back where it was a little quieter. Chip and Lee ordered a beer while the admiral had a Glenlivet whiskey. When the waitress returned with their drinks they ordered their meals then sat back to relax and enjoy each other's company while waiting for their dinner and getting down to business.

Between bites of his steak Lee asked, "Admiral what did you want to talk to us about?"

"I want your opinions on whether _Seaview_ can handle new radar and sonar systems along with a new radio system. The Navy is launching a new destroyer that is practically run by computers. The SecNav asked me if we would like to test those same devices out on _Seaview_. I'm not sure she can be configured to take on all the computers and software needed to run them," the admiral said. Seeing the looks of concern on their faces he added quickly, "Now I'm not thinking of replacing any of our crew with these devices,"

Wiping his mouth with a napkin Lee responded, "I think we would have to see the schematics and data before we can make that decision."

"There's a little room for new hardware and software but it depends on how much space is needed," Chip replied eagerly cutting his steak and putting a piece in his mouth. He was the IT guru on _Seaview_ and would like nothing better than to try out the Navy's new equipment. The admiral looked at the two men and could see they were excited about testing the equipment.

"Let me see how much information and data I can get from the Navy before we commit to doing the testing," the admiral commented finishing up his drink.

They continued to discuss the pros and cons to the new equipment as they finished their meal. As the waitress returned to remove their plates she put a dessert menu on the table.

"Gentlemen, can I interest you in some dessert? Rafaela's is known for their homemade cheesecakes," she boasted.

After looking over the menu they took the waitress's advice and all three ordered cherry cheesecake and coffee. When she returned with their coffee and cheesecake the admiral and Chip noticed Lee's piece was a lot larger than theirs.

"I've got more stars and bars and she didn't even care," the admiral said looking at his piece.

"Well it looks like she took a liking to you, Lee" Chip said with a frown as his piece was also smaller than Lee's.

Smiling broadly Lee took a bite of the cheesecake. He knew he wouldn't be able to eat the whole piece so he would take what he didn't eat home to Janet. It was at least some small consolation for having to eat at home alone tonight.

They finished up their desserts and the admiral paid the bill. Then walked out to their cars where Lee and Chip said goodnight to the admiral.

((()))

Chip stopped in front of Lee's garage door, letting him out with his piece of cheesecake. He was hoping he would forget it so he could eat it when he got home.

"Night Chip, thanks for driving. See you tomorrow."

"No problem Lee," Chip answered as he put the car in drive and headed down to his house.

Entering the house, Lee hung up his coat and put his cover in the closet. He could hear the television and it had a football game on but he also heard something else.

"Please help him. Don't let him die," Janet said talking in her sleep as she slept on the couch.

Lee put the bag with the cheesecake on the table, went over to her, knelt down along side the couch and gently shook her awake. She woke up surprised to see Lee at her side. "Sweetheart its okay, you were dreaming," Lee said as he kissed her on the forehead.

"When did you get home?" she asked not fully awake.

"Just now. Are you okay...you were talking in your sleep...who needs help?" Lee asked as he sat alongside her and put his arm around her.

"I don't know. I didn't see a face," Janet replied sitting up on the couch and rubbed his hand.

"Calm down sweetie." He could tell she was upset by the dream.

"Sorry Lee. I have no idea what or who I was dreaming about."

"Did you eat dinner?" he asked as sometimes she wouldn't eat if he wasn't home.

"Yes, I took the leftover chicken put it on the salad and ate that for dinner. What's in the bag?" she asked seeing it on the table.

"Leftover cheesecake. The admiral and Chip were mad because the waitress gave me a bigger piece than them but I don't understand why."

Shaking her head as he could be so naive, "Honey, she gave you a bigger piece because she was trying to pick you up," she told him looking at him. He was one handsome man and he was all hers.

Blushing slightly he laughed, "Do you want to eat it now?"

"No I don't feel like it now. I'll keep it until tomorrow. I'm still tired let's go to bed."

He took her hand and helped her up off the couch. He turned off the television, lights and went upstairs to their bedroom. Janet took her make up off, washed her face and slipped into bed next to Lee who was already there waiting for her so he could wrap his arm around her. He fell asleep but she laid there for awhile trying to figure out who was in her dream.

((()))

Janet woke up at 0430 the next morning. Lee was still sleeping so she carefully un-wrapped his arm from her and got up. She put on her robe and went downstairs. She made some coffee and while she waited for it to finishing brewing she looked outside and could see it was just starting to get light. When the coffee was finished, she grabbed a cup along with the leftover cheesecake and went outside on the patio. She sat on the lounge chair drinking the coffee and eating the cheesecake still trying to figure out who and what she was dreaming about. _Maybe a character in the book I'm reading, _she thought.

When Lee woke up at 0500, he reached for his wife and found she wasn't there. He got up, put on a pair of shorts and went to the bathroom to see if she was in there. He didn't hear the shower running but took a peek in to see if she was in there drying off, but it was empty. He went downstairs and looked in the kitchen. He could see she made a pot of coffee but he hadn't noticed her outside. He went to his office but she wasn't there. He went back upstairs and looked in her office; she wasn't there either. He was getting worried, _Where is she_,he thought. He went downstairs again and back to the kitchen, then looked outside and saw her sitting on the lounge chair. He grabbed a cup of coffee and went out to join her.

"Sweetie, what are you doing out here it's barely light out. Are you okay?" he said worriedly as she drew her knees up so he could sit down with her.

"Yes, I'm fine. I woke up early and couldn't fall back to sleep so I decided to come out here. It's quiet and I love to listen to the ocean."

He noticed the empty cheesecake container on the patio. "Cheesecake for breakfast is not exactly the breakfast of champions," he laughed.

"I know I shouldn't eat it for breakfast, but it looked good," she laughed back.

Putting his hand on her knee and giving it a squeeze he asked, "Is that dream stilling bothering you?"

"Yes I can't figure out who I'm talking too and what's it about."

"Please don't worry it was just a dream."

They sat there looking at the ocean as it got lighter. Lee got up, helped her to her feet and gave her a kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"How about we skip work today? I'll call and tell the admiral we would like the day off. We can sail down to San Diego and spend the weekend down there, just the two of us."

"As much as I would have love to be alone with you for the weekend," she answered, "We can't, we have the Jenkins' wedding tomorrow and you and Chip have a golf date on Sunday."

"I forgot about the wedding but I know Chip wouldn't mind if I cancelled our golf date. How about we go next weekend?"

"If you're here," she replied sullenly.

Lee had been on a six month leave of absence from ONI Admiral Johnson was forced to give him and the time was up this Sunday. They both knew that Admiral Johnson would waste no time calling Lee for an assignment and that he would probably pay for that leave by getting all the difficult missions.

Lee gently eased her away from him replying, "Sweetie, I know the leave is up this weekend. Maybe Johnson doesn't have any missions for me."

"Lee, be serious, I'm sure he's chomping at the bit to call you for a mission. Do you still want to work for ONI after being off?" she asked with her fingers crossed behind her back hoping he would say no.

Looking her straight in the eye he said softly, "I'm not ready to give it up just yet. Is that okay with you?"

Wrapping her arms around his neck, "I promised you I would accept your need to work for ONI and I will keep my word. I may not like it but I will live with it," she replied unhappily.

"Thank you, sweetie. Do we have time for some...?" Lee asked as he kissed her again.

"Sure, we have time but I think we better go in the house. I don't think Chip would appreciate looking out his window and see what we're doing."

"I guess you're right," he replied as she took her arms away from his neck. He opened the patio door for her as they went in the house.

They walked upstairs to the bedroom and climbed back into bed. They got up a little while later and knew that if they didn't hurry they would be late for work. Lee turned the water on in the shower while Janet got her clothes out. They quickly showered together and then finished getting ready for the day.

"I'm going to get another cup of coffee and a bagel," Lee told her before he went downstairs, "Do you want a bagel too?"

"No, I'm fine the cheesecake filled me up. I'll be down shortly," she said from the bathroom.

"Take your time we still have a few minutes before we have to leave," he told her as he ran down the stairs.

Janet came downstairs about twenty minutes later ready to go to work. Lee looked at her and smiled. She was wearing a short black dress with a pink jacket.

"Sweetie, you look lovely today as usual."

"Thanks honey. You don't look too bad yourself," she replied looking him over from head to toe before grabbing his tie and pulling his mouth down to hers so she could give him a kiss.

After finishing breakfast and cleaning up, they went out to the garage and got in Janet's SUV, no cobra today as it looked like rain.

((()))

They arrived at the institute just as Chip was getting out of his car. He waited for them before going in.

"Good morning, Lee, Janet," Chip greeted them.

"Morning, Chip," they answered back as they walked into the institute and took the elevator up to their floor.

When they arrived upstairs they were the first ones there so Janet made the coffee and went to her office. She would be very busy today as she had a lot of reports and letters to type up. As soon as the coffee was finished brewing, Lee and Chip grabbed a cup and went to Lee's office to talk about the new upgrades the admiral was proposing.

"Do you think there is enough room for all the equipment?" Lee asked taking a sip of his coffee.

Sitting on the edge of Lee's desk Chip replied, "Maybe but I'm going to have to see how much room it's going to take, we don't have a lot of room in there."

"Well we'll know when the admiral gets the information."

Chip left Lee's office, grabbed another cup of coffee and went to his office to tackle all the paperwork on his desk. Lee's desk wasn't much better. His in box was filled and falling onto the desk. He needed to finish all his work by the end of the day. He would get it off his desk and onto Janet's desk so she wasn't going to be very happy with him.

Angie had gotten in a few minutes after Chip, Lee and Janet. She was waiting for the admiral as he had quite a bit of work to do and she wanted to make sure he got it to her before they left for the day. When he arrived he stopped at Lee's office before going to his.

"I'm going to San Diego on Sunday to meet with Jiggs and hopefully can get some information on the upgrades."

"That's good, Chip and I are anxious to see what space is needed."

((()))

Lee woke up at 0500 on Saturday morning and laid there looking at his wife who was still sleeping. She woke up and found him staring at her.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked sitting up on one arm.

"No just looking at you," he told her kissing her gently.

They decided to go out for some exercise, a run for Lee and a walk for Janet. When they got out on the patio, it was a beautiful sunny day but they could tell it was going to be little warmer than it had been during the week. As they were walking down to the beach, they ran into Chip who was going for a run too so Lee and Chip ran while Janet walked. They would run about five miles to her two mile walk. They met up a few blocks from their houses. As they walked back Janet heard Chip's stomach growl.

Giggling Janet said, "Come on up, I'll make pancakes for breakfast."

"Thanks I'm really hungry," he replied gratefully.

Lee made the coffee while Janet got the batter ready for the pancakes and Chip set the table. They sat down and ate the pancakes.

"These are really good today. Almost a good as Cookie's," Chip exclaimed while he took two more.

"He gave me his recipe," Janet told him smiling. "We made a deal, he gives me the recipe and I stay out of the galley while he cooks."

Lee almost choked on his pancakes. "He's bribing you to stay out of the galley?"

"Yes after I got back from the admiral's house I wanted to help him. He didn't want me in there so I get the recipes I want to stay out."

Both Chip and Lee chuckled. Cookie didn't like anybody in his galley. He barely let the mess specialists in there to help him.

"Well I better get going. Have to make sure I'm ready on time for the wedding," Chip said after he put his dishes in the dishwasher. "See you later and thanks for breakfast."

"Okay bro, see you later."

Lee helped Janet clean up the rest of the dishes. She went upstairs to make sure her dress or Lee's shirt didn't need pressing while Lee left to go get a haircut and would pick up his and Chip's cleaning. He came back an hour later after dropping Chip's cleaning at his house. Janet was out on the patio watering the plants in the planters.

"Sweetie, who's going to take care of these plants while we're away?" Lee asked while he picked up one of the flowers.

"I asked Sergio, the institute gardener, to look after them while we're gone."

"I'm actually surprised they're still alive," he said as he nuzzled her neck. "How much time do we have?"

Giving him a dirty looked after his comment about the flowers she checked her watch and replied, "Not enough time to do what you're thinking. I have to start getting ready; you know it takes me a lot longer than you."

"Okay, I'll take a rain check."

They went into the house and upstairs. Janet turned on the shower and jumped in while Lee got the rest of his service dress blue uniform out of the closet. Janet had bought a new dress for the wedding and hadn't shown it to Lee. It was a dress with navy, pale yellow and white stripes. After she did her hair and make up, she stepped into the dress, and sat on the bed to put on her shoes. Lee came out of the bathroom as his wife stood up. He couldn't believe how gorgeous she looked and would cash in his rain check when they got home.

((()))

Chip picked them up for the wedding and made his way to the admiral's house. He was waiting outside for them when Chip pulled up. He climbed in the front seat while Lee hopped in the back with Janet. They found where the country club was with no problem, sat down and waited for the wedding to start. Lee and Chip smiled at each other when they saw Jenkins' come down the aisle. They could see he was very nervous more nervous than when he took over the conn _Seaview_ for the first time. It was a beautiful ceremony but they only served finger sandwiches so Chip was hungry when they left. They stopped at the diner on the way home for some real food.

Chip dropped the admiral off at his house and before he left the car, Lee said, "Have a safe trip to San Diego tomorrow."

"Thanks, Lee. I'll see what information Jiggs has for me. Enjoy the rest of your weekend," the admiral answered as he got out of Chip's car.

When Chip got to Lee and Janet's house she asked, "Chip, why don't you stay for dinner after your golf game tomorrow. We'll barbecue some steaks."

"Sounds good, see you tomorrow morning," Chip said as he drove away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lee was up early and quietly got out of bed. Janet was still sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He took a shower, put on his shorts and a collared shirt for his golf game with Chip. He went to kiss Janet goodbye when she woke up.

"Sorry sweetie I didn't want to wake you up but I needed a kiss for luck," he told her kissing her temple.

"I'm glad I woke up. If you win the golf game today, I'll..." she whispered the rest in his ear.

"That's all the incentive I need to win," he declared as he gave her another kiss.

"See you later," she replied smiling as he walked out the door and downstairs.

She could hear him making some coffee. He wouldn't go anywhere without a cup of the strong brew. As he waited for the coffee to brew, he went to the garage, got his golf clubs and put them by the front door. He took a travel mug, filled it with coffee and was just walking out the door when Chip pulled in the driveway and noticed the coffee mug.

"Do you have any more coffee?" he asked. "I didn't have time to make any."

"Sure take this, I'll get another mug."

Lee found another travel mug and filled it up. Janet would have to make another pot if she wanted some as he emptied the one he made. He put his clubs in the back of Chip's SUV and climbed in the front seat.

"Ready to lose," he quipped taking a drink of his coffee.

"I won't lose," Chip answered back. He usually wins when they play golf so he figured today wouldn't be any different.

"We'll see," Lee chuckled.

Chip pulled out of the driveway and headed to the golf course wondering why Lee was so sure he was going to win today.

((()))

Janet lay in bed for a few more minutes. She finally got up, took a shower and got dressed. She went to the store to get some groceries. There wasn't too much in their pantry so she needed to stock up on supplies plus buy something for dinner. She bought steaks, potatoes, and fixings for a salad. It would be too early to cook dinner so she bought some snacks from them to eat when they got back. She also bought the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

She unloaded the car and put all the groceries away. She went to the coffee pot and it was empty. Sighing she made some coffee and ate a bagel. She still had a couple of hours before Lee and Chip would be back so she made the dough for the cookies and put the first tray in the oven. While they were baking, she scrubbed the potatoes and made the salad. She had another recipe from Cookie for a marinade he used on steaks. She was going to try it out so she put those ingredients together and put the steaks in. The cookies were finished and cooling on a rack. Everything was ready to go as soon as Lee and Chip got home. She knew Chip would be hungry after eighteen holes of golf especially if he didn't eat breakfast.

Janet still had about forty-five minutes before the 'boys' would be home. She went upstairs and got the laundry. She also grabbed the cleaning from the closet. She saw Lee's blue uniform and put it in the cleaning bag after taking off the medals and insignias. She knew he would want it to be cleaned after sweating in it yesterday at the wedding. She would have to take it all to the cleaners after work tomorrow.

Finally finished with all the chores she went outside on the deck to read the newspaper. She took Lee's laptop and logged on to the Santa Barbara News-Press. She read what she wanted, turned off the computer and closed her eyes soaking up the warm sun. Before too long she dozed off. She had the same dream as the other night and woke herself up yelling in her sleep but she still didn't know who she was talking to and didn't know what it was about. Shaken she got up, went inside and got a glass of water. She went back outside, picked up Lee's laptop, put it back in his office and went to the kitchen. She was still bothered by the dream when Lee and Chip came in the door. Lee came in the kitchen and could see she was upset about something.

"Sweetie what's wrong...are you okay...what happened?"

"Nothing I fell asleep outside and had that dream again."

"Please don't worry about it," he told her as Chip came in the kitchen.

"Worry about what," Chip asked grabbing a cookie from the cooling rack.

"Janet's been having this dream and she doesn't know who's in it or what it's about. All she says is 'Please help him. Don't let him die'."

"That's very strange. I'm sure you'll figure it out," he said sympathetically grabbing another cookie.

"Who won?" she asked changing the subject.

"I won," Lee said proudly.

"He beat me on the last hole, last stroke. I still can't believe it," Chip said sullenly. "It's like he had an incentive to win," Chip continued looking a Janet with a smirk.

Janet went over to Lee and gave him a kiss. "I'll expect my reward later," he whispered in her ear.

"Yes sir," she replied with a gleam in her eye.

Lee went to the refrigerator, grabbed two beers and handed one to Chip.

"It's too early for dinner so I bought some chips and dip to snack on," Janet told them as she put them in a bowl.

"Why don't we go outside?" Lee suggested, "It's a beautiful day."

Janet took her coffee outside while Lee and Chip took their beers and snacks. They sat at the table talking.

"What did you do this morning besides go to the grocery store?" Lee asked curiously.

"Nothing too much, laundry, read the paper and got dinner ready." After talking for about an hour Janet asked, "Lee, how about you start the grill. I'm getting hungry as I just had a bagel earlier this morning."

"Sure sweetie. I'm surprised Chip hasn't said something already."

"Actually I filled up on the snacks," he replied looking at the empty chip bowl, "but I still have room for dinner."

Lee went into the house, grabbed the lighter for the grill, along with two more beers. He went back outside and handed Chip a beer.

"Janet do you want a glass of wine? I'll get it for you I just couldn't carry it all."

"I'll get it. I'm going to get the potatoes so you can put them on the grill as soon as it's hot."

Janet went in the house, poured a glass of wine and got the potatoes. As she walked past the counter Lee's cell phone rang. She put all the stuff down and picked up the phone. She didn't recognize the number and there was no name listed.

"Commander Crane's phone, Janet Crane speaking."

"Hello, Janet. It's Admiral Johnson, is Lee there?"

"Yes sir. He's outside please hold on while I get him," she told him unhappily.

"I'll wait," he replied tersely.

Janet went outside with his phone. Lee and Chip both saw the look on her face and knew something was up. She handed him the phone. "It's Admiral Johnson." He took the phone from her and went in the house.

"We knew it had to end sometime," Chip told her sadly.

Looking at Chip Janet said, "I know. I asked him if he still wanted to work for ONI and he said he's not ready to leave just yet."

"I asked him too. I was hoping since he was gone for awhile he wouldn't want to go back and he told me the same thing," Chip lamented.

Janet went back in the house and brought out the potatoes and her glass of wine. Lee was still on the phone pacing back and forth in the kitchen as he talked to Johnson.

"The grill is hot enough, so give me the potatoes and I'll put them on to cook," Chip told her.

Janet handed him the potatoes and then took a big gulp of wine. Lee came out of the house a few minutes later not looking too happy.

"We have to leave on an ONI mission by Tuesday morning," Lee said seriously.

"We?" Chip asked. "As in _Seaview_?"

"Yes, _Seaview_ will be taking me and another man named Wayne Kimball to the small island country of Venoco* just off the coast of Colombia. I went there to take pictures of the chemical laboratory they were setting up. Johnson wanted me to go back and blow it up when I asked for the leave of absence. Well now the People's Republic has taken over and finished the compound which is all underground. It sounds like their creating some pretty nasty biological weapons there."

"Who's Wayne Kimball?" Chip inquired.

"A top expert in explosives, supposedly the best in the country," Lee said repeating what Admiral Johnson had told him.

"Is he a SEAL...has he worked for ONI before...do you know him?" Janet wanted to know realizing her husband's life could depend on him.

"I don't know anything about him," Lee sighed. He was always leery about working with civilians on ONI missions.

"Why can't we just blow up the compound using the missiles on _Seaview_," Chip wondered.

"There are a few villages around the compound and they want to minimize the damage to the villages and the area. That's why they built the compound there. They knew if someone was going to blow it up they would have to come on the island if they didn't want to hurt the villagers."

"Does the admiral know about the mission?" Chip questioned as he took a drink of his beer.

"Johnson was calling him as soon he got off the phone with me. We better call Sharkey and have him recall the crew. We need to leave no later than Tuesday morning and we also have to stop in San Diego to pick up Kimball. We have to be on the island by Sunday night. According to intel Johnson received the People's Republic is moving out some of the biological weapons on the following Tuesday."

"I'll call Sharkey and tell him round up the crew," Chip said pulling out his cell phone.

As Chip was calling Sharkey, Lee's phone rang. Recognizing the number, "Hello Admiral. I assume you just got off the phone with Admiral Johnson?"

"Yes Lee. That's a tight timetable he's got."

"I know. It should take about five days running at full speed to get there," Lee replied as he did the calculations in his head.

"What about the crew?"

"Chip is calling Sharkey now and having him call them back. Hopefully everyone is in town and can make it."

"I'll be back later tonight. Jiggs did give me some of the details on the new systems they want us to test."

"Admiral, does Admiral Starke know anything about a Wayne Kimball? He's the demolition expert I'm going to be working with?"

"Let me check and I will let you know when I return," the admiral told him as he tapped a pencil on his briefcase.

Sighing he answered, "Thanks Admiral."

Before the admiral hung up he asked cautiously, "Lee, do you still want to work for ONI after being off?"

"Yes sir. I'm just not quite ready to quit. Sorry sir."

"Just thought I'd ask," he replied frowning. _Damn,_ he thought.

"We'll see you first thing in the morning. Good bye Admiral."

Lee disconnected his call from the admiral. Janet had gone in the house to get the steaks to barbecue. They still had to eat dinner so she brought the steaks to Chip who put them on the grill while Lee was talking with the admiral. She went back in the house and brought out the plates, silverware, the bottle of wine and another beer for Lee and Chip. She set the table while Lee and Chip talked about getting the crew back to _Seaview_.

"Sharkey's going to let me know who on the crew is not available to sail on Tuesday. I called Jamie and he will be ready to go too. Who's going to replace Jenkins?"

"Replace Jenkins? He's not doing anything important right now," Lee said with a wry grin teasing his wife.

"Lee Crane...you're kidding right?" Janet exclaimed looking at her husband not seeing his grin.

"Yes sweetie, just trying to lighten the mood a bit," he replied tenderly.

Chip stood there and shook his head saying, "Lee who are we going to get? With you gone we'll need someone besides Bobby and me."

Rubbing his forehead Lee thought about it for a few seconds, "Why don't we put Scott Taper in for Jenkins? I've had him in the control room taking over the conn a couple of times. He seemed to do alright."

"Okay Lee. I agree with you. Let's give him a chance."

Sharkey called Chip back with the news on the crew just before they were going to eat dinner.

"Mr. Morton I've contacted all the crew and all will be on board except for Jenkins," Sharkey reported to Chip.

"Thanks Chief. Could you do me a favor and call back Scott Taper and ask him to come to the institute tomorrow morning at 0900?"

"Yes sir. I'll let him know."

The steaks and potatoes were done so Lee put them on a plate while Janet went into the house and got the salad.

"Everything looks delicious," Chip said hungrily. "Let's eat."

They each took a steak, potatoes and salad. Chip had grilled the steaks to perfection. Janet got them another bottle of beer and poured more wine in her glass. In spite of what was ahead of them, they enjoyed their meal and had a good time talking about the golf game. When dinner was finished, Lee and Chip helped carry in the dishes and put them in the dishwasher while Janet made some coffee to go with the cookies.

"I think I've had a little too much wine today. You'll like the coffee; it's going to be nice and strong. I lost count on how many scoops I put in," Janet giggled.

"Sweetheart how many glasses of wine did you have?" Lee asked with a grin.

"Oh about three or four, I think, on an empty stomach."

Chip stood there watching her and had to laugh. She was drunk. He took the cups out of the cabinet along with the sugar and got the milk out of the refrigerator. He and Lee drank their coffee black but Janet liked it with milk and sugar. He took a cookie and put the rest of them on the table outside. He came back in for the coffee, sugar and cream.

Lee could tell she did have a little too much wine so he went over to his wife and gave her a hug. Janet was right the coffee was very strong but Lee and Chip didn't mind they thought it tasted great. After taking a sip Janet knew it was too strong but she needed to sober up so she drank it without cream and sugar.

It was getting late and they had to be at the institute early tomorrow to prepare for the mission. "Goodnight and thanks for dinner. I'll beat you the next time we play golf," Chip told Lee.

"We'll see. Maybe the tide has turned and I'm going to start winning," Lee laughed as he patted Chip on the shoulder. "See you tomorrow."

"Good night Janet," Chip said with a grin as she sat outside in the lounge chair.

"Night Chip," Janet replied taking a sip of her coffee as Chip walked down to his house shaking his head and smiling as he had never seen Janet drunk before.

((()))

After Chip left, Janet came in the house and sat on the couch while Lee cleaned up the rest of the dishes and the kitchen. He joined her on the couch where she rested her head on his shoulder and before too long she was sound asleep.

Waking her up Lee said smiling, "Come on sweetie, you need to go to bed."

"Okay Lee, let's go. I'm really tired," she replied with a yawn.

Lee helped her up the stairs. She was still feeling the effects of the wine but managed to get ready for bed by herself. By the time he got into bed, she was sleeping.

_So much for my reward for winning,_ he thought as he put his arm around her. _Maybe tomorrow morning._

((()))

Janet woke up at 0500 with a terrible headache. Lee was already in the shower so she slowly got up and joined him.

"Please don't ever let me have more than one glass of wine," she begged him, "I have a terrible headache."

He smiled as she stood there with the water running over her. "No problem. You were pretty out of it last night," he joked.

Embarrassed she asked, "What did I do...I didn't do anything silly...did I embarrass myself in front of Chip?"

"No you didn't do anything embarrassing. You just made the coffee a little too strong and fell asleep on my shoulder before I could collect my reward for winning the golf game. Do we have time for my reward," Lee asked deviously.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot about that," she said softly. "Probably not but so we're a little late," she replied turning off the water and grabbing his hand. They went back to bed where Janet kept her promise and rewarded him for winning the golf game. They had to take another shower and now they were running late so they wouldn't have time for any coffee or breakfast. Before they left for work, Janet took a couple of acetaminophen for her headache.

((()))

When they arrived at the institute, Chip was already there and had made the coffee. Lee made a beeline for the pot while Janet went to her office to hang up her coat.

"Good morning Chip. Thanks for making the coffee," Lee told him as he drank the stout brew.

Looking over at Janet as she came out of the office, Chip replied, "No problem. How's Janet this morning. I think she had a little too much wine yesterday."

"Yes she did. She made me promise to let her have only one glass from now on. She has a headache this morning and we were running late so she didn't get any coffee either."

Going over to the coffee pot, Janet poured herself a cup, "Chip, this coffee is very good," she said as she drank it black with no cream and sugar.

"Not feeling up to par this morning?" Chip laughed surprised that she liked the coffee.

"Not really, too much wine yesterday. I've got a lot of work to do to get ready to leave tomorrow so I'm going to let the two of you just stand around and do nothing," she grinned as she went back to her office.

The admiral came in a few minutes later along with Angie and Wanda. "Good morning," the admiral said to Lee and Chip, "how about we meet in my office at 0930 and I'll show you the information Jiggs gave me on the systems the Navy wants us to test and then we can go over the details for the mission we're undertaking."

"Yes sir," they replied.

"Admiral since Jenkins is not on this mission, Chip and I have decided to put in Scott Taper in his place. He's been at the conn before. He just needs some more experience and confidence," Lee told him.

"Sounds good Lee," the admiral answered nodding his head in agreement.

The admiral went into Angie's office, "Good morning Angie," he said, "I need to meet with you at 0900. We're leaving on a mission and I want to make sure you know what is going on and clear up any work that hasn't been finished before we leave."

"Yes sir," Angie replied as she turned on her computer and waited for it to boot up as she needed to print out a couple of letters for the admiral to sign.

The admiral went to his office, put his briefcase down and hung up his jacket before sitting down at his desk. He opened the briefcase and took out the information Jiggs had given him about the new systems. He wanted to look over the papers before Lee and Chip came in.

((()))

Scott Taper was at the institute office at 0845. Wanda let Lee know he was there. He was in the waiting area when Lee came out of his office.

"Hi Scott," Lee said pleasantly, "don't look so scared. There's nothing wrong."

Relaxing a little Scott replied, "Good morning sir. Thank goodness. I've been up most of the night thinking I've done something wrong."

Chip came out of his office when he heard Lee talking to Scott. The three of them went to Lee's office where Lee sat at his desk, Chip sat on the corner and Scott on the couch.

Lee began, "We would like you to take over for Jenkins in the control room. He's not available for this mission because he's on his honeymoon. Both Mr. Morton and I feel you're ready to assume some more duties and take over the conn."

"Thank you, sir. I've enjoyed the few times I've been up there working with you and Mr. Morton. I'm glad you have the confidence in me to take over for Jenkins."

Lee continued, "To start out we'll put you in charge when Mr. Morton or myself are there. We'll see how you do and put you on the delta watch. We'll be heading for an island in the Pacific near Colombia so we'll expect you to make sure we get there on schedule."

"I'll do my best sir," Scott assured them.

"Thanks for coming in. We'll see you in the morning," Chip said as he got up along with Scott.

Just as Scott left Lee's office, Janet came out of hers and gave him the thumbs up. He smiled and walked to the elevators.

*****Venoco is a fictional island made up for this story.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At 0930 Lee and Chip grabbed another cup of coffee and went to the admiral's office. "Go right in. He's expecting you," Angie said without looking up from her typing.

Lee knocked on the door anyway. "Come," the admiral said as Lee and Chip walked in, "let me show you what Jiggs gave me regarding the systems."

The admiral had the sheets spread out over the top of his desk. Chip and Lee stood behind the desk with the admiral.

Looking at the data sheets and schematics Chip said, "It doesn't look like it's going to take up too much room. We might be able to squeeze an extra computer or two in there."

"I think we should be able to reconfigure the sonar and radar stations without too much trouble. The radio looks a little smaller than what is in there now. This might work out for us to test," Lee commented as he ran his finger over the schematic drawing.

"Well we'll worry about this after we get back from Venoco," the admiral told them rolling up the information and putting it under his desk.

"Admiral, did Admiral Starke know anything about Wayne Kimball?" Lee asked rubbing his forehead.

Sitting down at his desk the admiral replied, "Not too much other than he's the best demolition expert in the country. He's known for imploding buildings in places that no one else would take on."

Chip and Lee sat down in the chairs in front of the admiral's desk as Lee asked, "Does he know anything about undercover work?"

Inhaling deeply the admiral answered, "No. Nothing at all."

"Damn," Lee swore. "Why pick him? There must be a SEAL that has his expertise. Hell I could do it."

"According the Johnson, since the PR took over they have added more chemical producing capabilities," the admiral said looking at the notes he got from Admiral Starke. "They want to take no chances on any of the biological weapons killing the people in the villages or being released into the atmosphere."

Sighing Lee said, "Thanks admiral for checking. I guess I'll have my work cut out for me."

Standing up, "Well I still have some things to get done. I'll see you later," the admiral told them.

They left his office and went to Chip's. They didn't shut the door all the way and Janet was outside the door as she needed to have Chip sign a letter and heard what they were talking about.

"Lee I'm not thrilled with the fact you're going to be working with someone who knows nothing about undercover work. How about I come with the two of you? You can get us in there; you and Kimball can plant his explosives where they need to go while I watch your backs."

"Thanks Chip, but I'm not going to put you or anyone else in harm's way. Besides that I don't think the admiral or Johnson would go for it. I'll take my chances."

Janet left the doorway before Lee came out. She was afraid of what was going to happen on this mission.

"Lee..." Chip tried to continue but Lee cut him off. "I'll be fine."

Lee left Chip's office and went to his to get what he needed for this mission. He took his 45, extra ammo and put it in his backpack. As he was zipping up the backpack Janet came in his office. She went over to him and gave him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and returned her hug. He could tell she was already worried.

"Please don't worry," he told her softly rubbing her back.

"I heard what you told Chip about this Wayne guy. I didn't mean to overhear what you were talking about, but I had a letter for Chip to sign...you didn't shut the door...so I listened. I'm sorry."

"It's okay sweetie. I was going to tell you anyway. I know what I'm doing. I've worked with people without experience before."

"I will always worry," she said as tears formed in her eyes but he didn't see them because she had her face buried in his chest. "I better get back to work. Chip still has to sign the letter so I can get it out."

She went to Chip's office and gave him the letter to sign. He could see she was upset. "I tried to make him take me with but he won't," Chip told her quietly.

"I know I heard you talking before," she replied softly, "thanks for trying."

Giving her a weak smile, Chip signed the letter so she could get it out today.

((()))

Lee, Chip and Janet finished their work at the institute right after lunch. They were going down to the sub pen to check on how the loading of _Seaview_ was progressing. Lee took his backpack while Janet grabbed his briefcase. They met Chip by the elevator and went down together. They got in their cars and drove to Dock A where _Seaview_ was berthed. There was a lot of activity on the dock as the crew loaded the supplies they would need for the mission. Janet saw Jamie by the sail hatch with John and Frank. They had boxes of supplies in their hands and Jamie had a cooler. Janet was wondering what was in the cooler. Lee was talking to Chief Sharkey so Janet went over to Chip.

"Chip what does Jamie have in the cooler? I've never seen him bring it aboard before," she asked curiously.

Hesitating he replied, "He has medications that need refrigeration, plasma and blood."

"Blood and plasma?"

"Yes, knowing Lee is going on an ONI mission and with his rare blood type, he always brings some with him in case of an emergency."

"I see," Janet sighed heavily hoping he wouldn't need to use the blood or plasma.

Chip could see she a little unnerved by what he told her. Lee finished talking with the Chief and they went down the gangway to the sail hatch. One of the men on duty took Lee's backpack and the briefcase from Janet so they could go down the ladder into the control room. Chip was right behind them. Chip went down the ladder followed by Lee who waited for Janet at the bottom and helped her down.

"I'll take it to our cabin," Janet told Lee so he could make sure everything was ready for sailing first thing tomorrow morning.

"Thanks," he said giving her hand a squeeze before handing her the items.

She went to their cabin put the backpack in the closet and briefcase on the desk. They would be staying on _Seaview_ tonight so they could get an early start in the morning but they would need to go home so she could pack what they needed. She looked to see if Lee's fatigues were in the closet. He had one set there but would probably need another one so she would pack one for him along with some more uniforms.

She opened the briefcase, took her work out and put the briefcase under his desk. There wasn't too much to be done from the office but there was always paperwork to do on _Seaview_. Whatever they entered into the log book in the control room, she entered into the computer too plus duty rosters and inventory. She would be kept busy but would also pack her reader in case she had some free time. After taking the work to her office she came back to their cabin, sat down at the desk and waited for Lee.

((()))

Lee came into the cabin and saw his wife at his desk staring into space. "Ready to go? They've got almost everything loaded so we'll be ready to sail in the morning," he said softly not wanting to startle her.

She turned to look at him, "Yes, just checked to see what we needed to pack."

They walked back down the passageway to the spiral staircase. Janet went down first with Lee following close behind. Chip was waiting for them in the control room and looked at his watch. "How about we go to dinner before we come back for the night?"

"Sure I'm a little hungry," Lee remarked and looked at Janet, "You didn't have any lunch either aren't you hungry too."

Lying Janet said, "Yes, I'm hungry what are we going to eat?"

"Let's go to the barbecue place. They have take-out so we can get it quickly, eat and pack so we can be back on _Seaview_ by 2000 hours," Lee suggested.

"I'll pick up dinner while you and Janet pack. I've got my gear already to go just need to pick it up from the house. We'll eat at your house and leave from there. Okay?"

"Works for us," Lee responded, "thanks Chip. See you back at the house."

((()))

Janet took their duffle bags out of the closet and began putting her clothes in one while Lee put his clothes in the other.

"You only have one set of fatigues on _Seaview_," she mentioned as he was putting in some uniforms.

"Thanks sweetie," he told her as he grabbed two more sets. He could see she was upset about something.

"What's wrong?" he asked going over to the closet where she was taking clothes off the hangar so she could pack them.

"Nothing just a little nervous about this mission but I know everything will be fine," she told him trying to convince herself as she walked over to the bed and put her clothes in the duffle bag.

He gave her a kiss and was going to do a little more when the doorbell rang. Chip was back with dinner. "To be continued later," he smiled at her and she returned his smile.

He took both their duffle bags downstairs as Janet let Chip in. They ate dinner and as Lee and Chip cleaned up, Janet watered her plants before they left. Chip walked down to his house, took his duffle bag and put it in the car with Janet and Lee's. Lee took the car keys out of his pocket while Janet and Chip got in and drove back down to the sub pen.

((()))

Bobby O'Brien and Scott Taper were already aboard checking in the crew. When Lee and Chip came down the gangway they saluted both of them. "Good evening sirs," they said. "Good evening Mrs. Crane."

"Good evening," they replied.

"Has all the crew checked in?" Chip asked.

"Yes all but Riley. He called and said he would be a little late but would be here by 2200 hours. Something about a surfboard and a contest."

"Okay thanks for letting us know," Lee replied smiling. Lee, Chip and Janet went to the sail hatch and down the ladder in the control room. Two crewmen had taken their duffle bags and put them in their cabins. Chief Sharkey was in the control room waiting for Riley to board. The admiral came down the ladder into the control room right after them.

"All on board except for Riley," the admiral stated to Sharkey after he checked with O'Brien and Taper on deck.

"Yes sir. We'll be ready to shove off at 0500," Sharkey answered quickly.

"Great job of getting everything and everybody on board in such short notice Chief," the admiral told him.

"Thank you sir."

"Since we're leaving pretty early I'm going to my cabin for the night. Good night, all."

"Goodnight sir," they all replied as the admiral headed up the spiral staircase.

"That sounds like a good idea," Lee said as he looked at Janet.

"Fine with me," she replied with a smile.

All three of them went up the staircase to their cabins.

((()))

Lee and Janet went to their cabin and got ready for bed. Janet climbed in first and waited for Lee to come in. He could see the worry etched on her face.

"I'll be fine," he reassured her again as he climbed in the bunk and wrapped his arm around his wife. She snuggled a little closer to him that night.

((()))

Lee and Janet woke up at 0400 and got ready for the day. They would have breakfast after _Seaview_ cleared the breakwater and was in open sea. Since Lee was going to let Scott take over the conn while he ate breakfast, Janet would meet him in the wardroom. Lee went to the control room and knew Chip was already in the conning tower telling the dock crew to remove the gangway and prepare to shove off. Lee climbed the ladder up to the conning tower.

"Hi Chip," Lee said quietly.

"Good morning Lee," Chip replied. "We're ready to shove off any time you give the order."

"Well let's get underway."

"Prepare to shove off. Clear the deck," Chip said over the mic.

"You're pretty quiet this morning," Chip commented as they stood in the conning tower watching the dock detail pull up the gangway and untied the lines holding _Seaview_ to the dock.

"Just thinking about what's ahead. I'm not too thrilled about working with a civilian," Lee replied back looking at the dock detail stow the lines.

"My offer still stands," Chip answered softly.

"No I need you here in case something does happen," Lee explained.

"Do you expect anything to happen?"

"No just have an uneasy feeling," Lee answered looking away from the dock and into the channel.

Chip gave the orders to shove off. "Engine room, all back, dead slow."

"Engine room, aye."

They both stayed in the conning tower as _Seaview_ slowly backed out of her berth and into the channel. Once she cleared the breakwater and was in open sea they would dive the boat. It would take them two hours to reach the 32nd Street Naval Station where she would dock for an hour so they could pick up Wayne Kimball. Both of them went back to the control room where Scott Taper was waiting for them. Chip and Lee could see he was nervous but he needed to be in command if he was going to gain any confidence.

"You have the conn Mr. Taper," Lee said noting the change in the log book.

"Aye, sir."

"Mr. Taper please dive the boat," Lee ordered.

"Secure the deck detail, prepare to dive," he said into the mic and pressed the button sounding the klaxon.

"All green, Tim?"

"Yes sir all green," Tim replied promptly.

"Dive, dive, dive," Scott said into the mic.

_Seaview_ slowly glided under the water. Once underwater, Lee and Chip checked the course Taper had set.

"Good job Mr. Taper," Lee commended him, "Please set the course and speed."

"Helmsmen set a course of 1-8-0."

"Aye sir," the helmsmen replied,

Clicking the mic, "Engine room all ahead standard."

"Aye sir."

"Nicely done Mr. Taper," Lee said as he patted him on the shoulder. He could feel him relax just a bit.

"If you have any problems, please call us immediately. We'll be in the wardroom," Lee told Scott.

"Aye sir."

((()))

Janet went to the wardroom and saw the admiral and Jamie were already enjoying their breakfast. She sat down next to Jamie to wait for Lee but she didn't have to wait to long when he and Chip walked in the wardroom.

"Good morning, Lee, Chip," the admiral said. "Everything okay leaving NIMR?"

"Yes sir. We've put Taper in charge of the conn until we get close to San Diego," Lee told him as he helped Janet up from the table. "He's a little nervous but we've all been there. He'll do fine just needs some experience."

Chip took a tray and handed one to Janet as Lee grabbed one for himself. Cookie put some eggs, sausage and toast on all their trays. Janet looked at all the food on her plate and knew she would never eat it all. They went back to the table and sat down. Lee went to the sidebar and got three cups of coffee.

"Lee, when we get to San Diego, I'm going to meet Jiggs and Wayne Kimball dockside. No sense going to his office since we're not going to be in port for very long. He should be there by the time we're berthed," the admiral said drinking his coffee.

"Yes sir. We'll be ready to shove off as soon as you're back on board," Lee responded taking a bite of his toast.

The admiral and Jamie left the wardroom while Lee, Chip and Janet finished their breakfast. Janet ate most of it but what she didn't eat, Chip did.

"After all the barbecue ribs you ate last night, the breakfast you just ate you still have room for more," Janet asked amazed at how much food he could eat.

Chip looked her grinning, "That was a long time ago. I was hungry."

They finished their breakfast and Lee took all their trays and put them in the dish bin. He got another cup of coffee as Cookie was taking the dirty dish bin away. Janet was still sitting at the table with Chip drinking her coffee.

"Good breakfast this morning," Lee told Cookie. "Still bribing Janet with recipes to stay out of the galley?"

"Thank you sir. Yes now don't get me wrong she would probably do a good job but I don't want anyone in here with me," he told Lee softly so Janet wouldn't hear.

"Don't worry you're secret is safe with me," he said to Cookie with a grin.

He went back to the table and sat down to finish his coffee. He didn't want to go back to the control room too soon. He wanted Scott to continue at the conn for a little while longer. He would have to go back there when they got close to San Diego because there's a lot of traffic around there and he would need to be in the conning tower to bring her in. This harbor was not quite as tricky as Pearl but could be busy and Scott wasn't ready to dock her just yet.

Holding his coffee cup in his hand, "Where are you going from here?" Lee asked Janet.

"To my office as I have some work to catch up on plus I have to type up the duty rosters Chip just gave me. I see they've put quite a few inventory tickets on my desk that I need to enter into the computer."

"Do you want to watch us dock in San Diego?"

Janet didn't normally get to be in the conning tower when they docked; usually only at NIMR and Pearl Harbor so today was special. "Sure, if it's okay. I like watching you get this huge submarine in the harbor."

"We should be docking in an hour," he said as he got up and put his coffee cup in the bin.

"I'll be there."

Lee and Chip left the wardroom and went back to the control room to make preparations for docking in San Diego. Janet went to her office to work.

"I'll take over the conn Mr. Taper," Lee said to Scott after checking the instruments and seeing they were right on schedule.

"Aye sir."

"Good job Mr. Taper," Lee told him.

"Thank you sir," he replied but stayed near the plotting table to watch what Lee and Chip were doing.

About fifty minutes later, Janet could feel _Seaview_ slow down so they must be close to the harbor. She turned off her computer, grabbed the duty rosters she typed up and went to the control room. She gave Chip the duty rosters to look at before he had Lee sign off on them. He noticed that Scott was on the roster for Delta Watch which is what he wanted.

"Glad to see you put Mr. Taper on the Delta watch," Lee remarked to Chip.

"I thought he could handle it. It should be quiet but he'll need to take care of any problems should they arise." Lee signed off on the rosters and handed them to Janet for posting.

Chip headed up the ladder to the conning tower when they were finished. Lee waited for Janet to go up the ladder and followed her up. _Lee was right there were a lot of boats and ships, _Janet thought.

"Dead slow," Lee told the engine room.

"Aye sir."

Lee gave orders to maneuvering slowly bringing the huge submarine into the largest berth in the harbor. Once _Seaview_ was in place the deck crew threw the lines to the men on the dock to tie her off and place down a gangway. The admiral was in the control room waiting for the word that she was secure so he could meet Admiral Starke on the dock along with Wayne Kimball. Janet came down the ladder into the control room and the admiral was surprised to see her.

"He let you up to watch him bring her in?" the admiral asked with a smile.

"Yes sir. It's amazing to watch him get her into a harbor without hitting another vessel or the dock," she replied grinning.

"Yes it is pretty amazing how they manage to get her here. But I've got the best there is," he said as Janet nodded her head in agreement.

Lee and Chip came down the ladder as they finished docking the boat. "Is there a problem sir? I know I shouldn't have let Janet on the conning tower but it's a nice harbor to see when you're docking."

"No problem Lee," the admiral replied. "Did you see Admiral Starke and Mr. Kimball at the dock?"

"His car was just pulling up to the berth when we came down," Lee reported.

"Let's go up and meet them," the admiral stated. "This way we can get out of here before 'rush hour' starts," he laughed. Being the largest base on the Pacific Coast, 32nd Street Naval Station and home to the Pacific fleet vessel traffic could get heavy as the day wore on. It was best to get out before that happened.

The admiral and Lee made their way up the ladder to the sail hatch and down the gangway as Admiral Starke and Wayne Kimball were exiting the car. Lee saluted Admiral Starke and the admiral shook his hand.

"Admiral Nelson, Commander Crane, this Wayne Kimball," Starke said as they shook hands with Wayne. "Here is the latest intel I received from Admiral Johnson," he continued handing the packet to the admiral. "Is there anything else you need?" Getting no response he offered his hand to Nelson and the other two men. "Then good luck and have a safe journey."

"Thank you sir," Lee and Wayne replied.

"Thanks, Jiggs. We'll see you in a week or so."

Chip was in conning tower waiting for the admiral, Lee and Mr. Kimball to come aboard so they could leave port as soon as possible. On the dock were Patterson and Kowalski waiting for them.

Lee walked over them, "Mr. Kimball, this is crewmen Patterson and Kowalski. They will take you gear below."

"Thank you Commander. Please be very careful with the blue bag, it has the explosives needed for blowing up the compound. The other bag is my gear."

"Kowalski take the blue bag and put it in the arms locker," Lee told him.

"Aye sir," Kowalski answered and gently picked up the blue bag and went down the gangway to the sail hatch.

"I'll take my own bag down just show me where to go," he said to Lee as he grabbed his bag.

Patterson followed Kowalski to the sail hatch and held the bag while he went down the ladder into the control room. He carefully handed Kowalski the bag who took it to the arms locker.

Patterson went down the ladder followed by the admiral and Mr. Kimball while Lee continued up the ladder to the conning tower.

"Secure the deck detail, prepare to shove off," Chip ordered as soon as the men entered the sail hatch.

The harbor detail undid the lines that held _Seaview_ to the dock took the gangway away while the crew grabbed the lines and stowed them before going down the ladder.

Lee called the engine room, "All back dead slow."

"Aye, sir," they replied and _Seaview_ gradually left the dock.

After they were away from the dock Lee ordered, "All ahead 1/3." _Seaview_ slowly made her way out of the harbor.

The admiral and Mr. Kimball made their way to the observation nose after coming down the ladder, "I heard Commander Crane was one of ONI's best agents and a Navy SEAL but I didn't know he was also the captain of _Seaview,_" Mr. Kimball remarked.

"That is correct," the admiral replied as they walked past the plotting table.

"I also understand that he's a no nonsense kind of guy; get in and get out in one piece."

"Yes he knows what needs to be done and how to get it done."

Janet was in the observation nose watching _Seaview_ leave when Mr. Kimball spotted her. "I didn't know there was a woman on board," he said to the admiral making a beeline for her.

"I'm Wayne Kimball and you are?" he asked grabbing her hand and winking at her.

Lee came down the ladder jumping down past the last two rungs while Chip stayed in the conning tower until they cleared the breakwater. Before Janet or the admiral could answer Lee came up behind him and tersely replied, "Mrs. Crane."

Wayne turned around to face Lee who was not very happy with him at the moment as he was a little jealous of the way Wayne approached his wife.

"Sorry Commander. I didn't realize she was your wife."

"If you'll excuse me I need to make sure we get out of the harbor," Lee told him and walked back to the control room as Chip came down the ladder.

"All clear Skipper. We can dive anytime you're ready," Chip told Lee.

"Mr. Morton please dive the boat," Lee ordered.

With his usual efficiency Chip issued the orders to dive. "Dive, dive, dive," he said over the mic and pressed the button on the klaxon.

"All green Mr. Morton,"

"Thank you Peters. Take her down to ninety feet. Helmsmen set a course of 2-1-0. Engine room all ahead full."

"Aye, aye sir," they replied.

Janet and Mr. Kimball watched as the water passed over the observation nose windows and _Seaview _slowly submerged into the ocean.

"What a fantastic view," Mr. Kimball remarked.

"Yes it is," Janet replied as Lee and Chip came back in the observation nose after _Seaview_ reached her depth and course.

"Mr. Kimball this is _Seaview's_ Executive officer, Chip Morton. If you should need anything, please let him or me know," Lee said as Chip shook hands with Mr. Kimball.

Speaking freely, "My father was in the Navy and I'm aware of formalities but can we do away with them unless we're in front of your crew? So please call me Wayne."

Lee replied, "Yes that will be fine. Lee and Chip will work. My wife's name is Janet." Lee continued, "Chip, please show Wayne to his cabin. After you are settled, I'll give you a tour of the boat. There are restricted areas you will not be allowed in so I hope you will abide by those rules."

"Yes Lee I understand."

Chip and Wayne walked up the spiral staircase to a cabin down the hall from Chip's. Wayne put down his duffle bag and looked around as Chip showed him where everything was located.

"I thought the cabins on submarines were the size of a matchbox but this is pretty spacious."

"Well _Seaview_ is not your ordinary submarine as you can see," Chip told him. "She can be a little confusing but you'll figure it out."

"Well let's go back for my tour. I'm very interested in seeing what else is on this boat," Wayne said excitedly.

Chip and Wayne went back to the observation nose where Lee was waiting. He showed him the wardroom, sick bay, ship's mess and his cabin.

As they made their way back to the observation nose Lee remarked, "They put your explosives in the arms locker room. They'll be safe in there. Do you have any questions?"

"No sir. You have a very impressive submarine. I was on a submarine with my father once and it sure didn't look anything like this," Wayne commented as he looked around trying to figure out where he was.

"Thank you but this is all Admiral Nelson's. He designed it and built it," Lee replied proudly.

They returned to the observation nose where the admiral was waiting for them to come back. "Chip you have the conn," Lee said as he moved to the controls for the crash doors.

"Aye sir."

Once Chip had moved to the control room Lee closed the doors between the control room and observation nose giving them the privacy they needed to discuss the mission.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The three men sat down at the table where the admiral had laid out the latest intel he got from Admiral Starke.

Lee began, "Wayne I understand you've never worked undercover before."

"Yes, that is correct. I work for a private company that does demolition all over the world and I'm the best demolition expert in the world. That's why I was picked to do this job. Lee, just like you know your job, I know mine."

"In order for us to get in there and do what needs to be done, it is imperative you do exactly what I tell you. Our lives depend on it. Here's a drawing of the building you're going to implode. As you can see there are a few villages surrounding it. That's why we need your expertise. We don't want to harm any villagers if possible. We also need to remember there are some very dangerous chemicals and biological weapons located in there."

"I understand Lee. I've looked over the drawing and know where I need to place my explosives. I realize as a SEAL you are familiar with them but just as undercover work is your forte, explosives are mine and you will have to do what I tell _you_ when it comes to that."

"I understand," Lee conceded as they continued to discuss the mission making sure everything was in order.

After three hours Lee looked at his watch and his duty as well as Chip's was over thirty minutes ago. He was hungry and promised Janet they would have dinner together. "How about we go and get some dinner, we've been at this for quite a while. Cookie is making chicken parmesan tonight with brownies. One thing you will enjoy while on _Seaview_ is the food. Our cook is the best."

Surprised at the time Wayne responded, "I am a little hungry. I can't believe how fast the day has gone by."

Lee opened the crash doors and found Bobby O'Brien at the plotting table. "Good evening Mr. O'Brien. Everything okay?"

"Yes sir. We're on course and schedule."

"Good. This is Wayne Kimball. He'll be with us on this cruise. This is Lt. Bobby O'Brien."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kimball," O'Brien said.

"Same here," Wayne said extending his hand as O'Brien shook it.

"Is Mr. Morton in the wardroom?"

"Yes sir. He left about thirty minutes ago."

The admiral, Lee and Wayne left the control room and went to the wardroom where they found Chip and Janet awaiting their arrival. They made their way to the line and everyone got a heaping helping of chicken parm and pasta. Chip lead the way to their table and they all took a seat.

"How do you like being on a submarine?" Janet asked Wayne as she twirled spaghetti on her fork.

"So far so good. _Seaview_ is a very interesting submarine though. I went on one with my dad a long time ago and as I told Mr. Morton it sure wasn't like this."

"Well most submarines aren't like this," the admiral commented. "She's one of a kind."

They sat there in the wardroom room eating their dinners and talking about _Seaview_. When they were finished, Janet took their trays to the dish bin; she also got their coffee cups and refilled them.

"You were right about the food. That was the best chicken parmesan I've ever had," Wayne told them. "My compliments to the chef."

"Thank you," Cookie replied as he put a plate of brownies on the table in front of Lee.

They all took a brownie except Janet. She was too full to eat one but knew Cookie would save her one for later.

As Lee was eating his brownie he said, "Wayne, I would like to meet with you tomorrow sometime to go over the plans for when we get on the island."

"Just let me know when Lee," Wayne responded. "I have some plans to go over too."

"How about 1100 hours tomorrow. We'll meet in the observation nose."

"Sounds good to me, I'll be there," Wayne responded taking a drink of his coffee.

They finished their brownies, cleaned up their dishes and left the wardroom. Lee, Chip and the admiral were heading back to the observation nose for a meeting on the upgrades. Cookie would bring them a fresh pot of coffee for their meeting and another plate of brownies.

As they were leaving Wayne said, "I'm really sorry but I'm not sure how to get back to my cabin."

Janet answered, "I'll show you. She can be quite confusing. When I first started, I was always getting lost and the crew had to show me where to go."

"Thanks I appreciate it."

Janet and Wayne left the wardroom and headed down the passageway to the nearest stairway and went up to "A" deck and Officer's Country.

"How long have you been on _Seaview_," Wayne asked Janet as they walked along the passageway. "It must be strange being the only woman on board."

"Just over three years. I'm considered one of the crew and I have a job to do just like the rest of them."

"How long have you and Lee been married?" he asked sensing it couldn't have been too long by Lee's reaction in the observation nose when he first came aboard.

Smiling Janet replied, "Not quite three years. Lee and I got married a few months after I was hired for the job on _Seaview_ and the institute_._ I enjoy working with him as well as Admiral Nelson and Mr. Morton."

"It must be hard when he leaves for his missions," Wayne said sympathetically.

"Yes it can be difficult but I know he'll be back as soon as he can. I understand you've never done anything undercover before?"

"You got that right. I'm not sure I want to now," he replied as they got to his cabin door.

Turning to face him, "Wayne, I know it's not going to be easy for you on this mission. But please do whatever Lee tells you to do. Your life and his will depend on it and I would like both you and my husband back in one piece."

"I'll do my best," he reassured her. "Thank you for showing me to my cabin."

"No problem. See you in the morning," she replied as she walked to her cabin around the corner.

((()))

Standing at the table in the observation nose, Lee sipped his coffee and munched on a brownie while they looked at the drawings Admiral Starke had given them.

"After checking the dimensions on this drawing with the technical room layout, it will be tight but we should get a couple of computers in there," Chip told the admiral and Lee as he grabbed a brownie and cup of coffee.

"We can reconfigure the radio room with no problem as well as sonar and radar. I think we should tell the Navy we can do it," Lee said confidently.

"I'm okay with what needs to be done. When we get back I'll call Jiggs and let him know. Lee, what do you think of Wayne?"

"I'm not sure. He seems confident but maybe too confident. Check with me tomorrow after our meeting."

"All right, I don't know about you two but I'm bushed. It's been a long day. I'll see you in the morning," the admiral told them.

"Good night sir," they said to the admiral.

Lee and Chip stayed in the observation nose a little while longer drinking their coffee. They had eaten all of the brownies.

"Lee, are you sure you don't want me to come with?" Chip asked again.

"Thanks Chip but I really need you to be here just in case there is a problem. You can get _Seaview_ out of there safely," Lee told Chip rubbing his forehead.

Chip looked Lee in the eyes, furrowing his brows and said, "Do you expect any problems?"

Lee sighed, "No but you know I always like to be prepared for anything."

They left the observation nose and went up the spiral staircase to their cabins. Janet had fallen asleep while waiting for Lee to return. When Lee got to his cabin Janet was sitting up in their bunk shaking, covered in sweat and tears running down her face. Lee ran over to her, "Sweetie, what's wrong," he asked urgently, "Was it the dream again?" Unable to speak, she nodded her head. Lee went to the head, ran a towel under cool water, returned to their bunk and gently wiped her face.

Tears running down her cheeks, "There was a guard...he had a gun...shot someone...still don't know who," she cried, "I can't see a face."

He wrapped his arms around her holding her close stroking her hair, "Its okay, sweetie, its okay."

He left her sitting in the corner of the bunk, tears still running down her cheeks as he quickly got ready for bed. He climbed in bed and lay down next to her and wrapped his arms tightly around her as she was still shaking.

((()))

At 1100 Wayne came down the staircase to the observation nose for his meeting with Lee.

Lee seeing Wayne come down the stairs said, "Chip take over the conn."

Looking up from the plotting table Chip answered, "Aye sir," as Lee put his pencil down and pressed the button closing the crash doors. He walked over to the desk and took out the plans, maps and intel they had from ONI. Wayne was looking out the windows in the admiral's 'front porch' and turned around when Lee unrolled the plans and maps and laid them on the table.

"_Seaview _will be sitting about two hundred yards off the island," Lee said pointing to the area on the map, "There's a small harbor on the eastern side of the island but we'll be coming in from the western end. From what I saw when I was there and the new intel, it doesn't look like they have any radar tracking abilities but we can't take a chance on bringing her any closer. We'll be going in before dawn and taking a zodiac to the island which will return to _Seaview_ once we're on the island. It's a two mile hike to the compound and the first mile is dense jungle. It becomes a little better the closer we get to the compound. There are villages on the northern and southern sides of the island about a half a mile away in each direction. Hopefully we won't see any of the villagers. Any questions, so far."

"No but how do we get in the compound?" Wayne questioned.

"Once we scope out the area and make sure there are no cameras or tracking devices we'll head down to the compound. There will be guards so we'll have to take them out. Do you have any experience in knocking out someone?"

"Yes I can do that," Wayne assured Lee.

"Good. We'll then take their uniforms and put them on. We need to make sure that even though we're dressed as guards we aren't seen. Do you have a gun and can you use it if need be?"

"Lee of course I can use a gun, what man can't." Wayne replied irritated. "Why all the questions? Just tell me what I need to do and I will do it."

"Kimball," Lee said angrily, "I need to know everything about you, your capabilities and if you can follow an order. Our lives depend on what you can or can't do so I need you to be honest with me."

"Commander, how long do you think I would last in my line of work if I didn't follow orders," he sniped back. "I'll do my best at whatever you tell me to do. I want to get out of there alive too."

Taking a deep breath Lee continued, "Alright sorry I got a little angry. Once we have the uniforms we'll go to the areas where you need to place the explosives. Do you have a weapon?"

"Sorry I got a little testy too. No I don't have one."

"I'll see that you're issued one before we leave."

"What if we're spotted?" Wayne asked with a worried look.

"We're going to tell them that we're helping the technicians layout the cable for the monitoring system they're installing. Hopefully the guards won't know any better."

"Okay that makes sense," Wayne replied and took over the conversation, "Now this is where you'll need to follow my orders. We'll be using C-4 plastic explosives. We don't need to place too many of them to implode the building. The compound isn't that big and the concrete isn't that thick. The technique involves the firing of precisely placed demolition charges in specific timed intervals. It uses gravity to cause the center of the building to fall vertically while pulling the sides inward at the same time."**

Looking at the blueprints Wayne continued as he pointed to the areas he wanted to place the explosives, "We will place the C-4 in four places; the laboratory where the vault that houses the chemical and biological weapons is located, the main electrical room, the locker room and one of the offices."

"How are you going to make sure the vault isn't just damaged and releases the chemicals and biological weapons out in the open?"

"By placing the C-4 in the laboratory and the other three rooms, the walls will cave in around the vault sealing it from all sides and the concrete ceiling along with the dirt on top of the compound will collapse on top of it burying it under the rubble."

"You're sure about that?" Lee questioned.

"Positive provided my charges are placed in the proper locations. This placement is the most important one," Wayne stressed as he pointed to the laboratory.

"Then we have to make sure we get it in position," Lee assured him.

"We'll be using an electrical detonator. The wires will lead out of the building. Using your camera monitoring system cover we can pretend to be tying them into the cameras outside the building. Have you ever used C-4 and an electrical detonator?"

Lee nodded, "C-4 yes but the electrical detonator no."

"If something should happen to me, here's how the detonator controller works. It'll have two buttons, one labeled "charge" and one labeled "fire". Toward the end of the countdown, you'll press and hold the "charge" button until the indicator light comes on. This builds up the intense electrical charge needed to activate the detonators. After the detonator-control machine is charged, and the countdown is completed, you'll press the "fire" button but still need to hold down the charge button. This releases the charge into the wires so it can set off the blasting caps."***

"I understand," Lee replied rubbing his forehead.

"When will we be arriving at the island?"

"We should be there by late Friday night. We'll leave for the island at 0400 Saturday morning just before dawn. If we have no problems we should be back on board _Seaview_ by 1900. Any questions?"

"No I think you've cover everything," Wayne replied, "but how will_ Seaview_ know to come and get us?"

"I'll have radio contact directly to her. As soon as we blow up the compound, I'll call and have them send out the zodiac to pick us up. We should be at the pickup point by the time they're there."

"Okay for now. If I have any questions..."

"Please ask anytime. Sorry about earlier. How about we get some lunch?" Lee suggested.

"I can tell you're very passionate about your job but so am I," Wayne stated and added, "Lunch sounds good."

Lee opened the door between the observation nose and control room. Chip was as the plotting table waiting for Lee.

Putting his pencil down Chip asked, "Lee do you want to have lunch first or do you want me to go?"

Picking up a pencil, "Chip, why don't you go. I told Janet I would meet her at 1300 hours," Lee replied checking their position on the map.

((()))

Chip came back to the control room after his lunch and went over to Lee at the plotting table. "Sounded like your meeting got a little heated," Chip mentioned softly.

"Yes, I lost my temper. He seems a little cocky to me but I actually think he might work out," Lee replied, "I'll be back in thirty minutes."

"Take your time. I'm not going anywhere," Chip joked.

"Thanks, Chip," Lee smiled back patting him on the shoulder.

Janet was in the wardroom when Lee came in. They went over to the sideboard and got a sandwich.

"Sorry Skipper, Mr. Morton ate all the potato salad. I can give you potato chips instead," Cookie sighed.

"No problem Cookie, chips are just fine," Lee told him smiling as they sat down at the table.

"He would have eaten the rest of the cookies if I didn't put four of them aside for you and Mrs. C."

"Thanks Cookie." Lee took the cookies from him and gave two of them to Janet.

"How did your meeting go," Janet asked as she put a potato chip in her mouth.

"We both got a little angry but he's just as passionate about his job as I am. Everything should work out okay," he reassured her. He got them another cup of coffee to go with their cookies. They finished up lunch and Lee headed back to the control room while Janet went back to her office.

((()))

"Remind me next time to go to lunch first," Lee joked to Chip when he returned to the control room and went over to him at the plotting table.

Chip looked at him sheepishly, "Sorry I ate all the potato salad."

"No problem we got chips. What's our status?"

"Still on course and about fifteen minutes ahead of schedule."

Picking up a pencil from the plotting table and rolling it between his hands Lee asked, "Good. Chip regarding those tests on the new equipment, about how long do you think it will take to install everything?"

"If we get the computers from the Navy and software fairly quick, maybe a couple of days. It might take longer to refit sonar, radar and the radio but I think it all can be done in a week to ten days."

"Sounds good," Lee replied smiling as they returned to their normal routine about the control room.

**Imploding a building-Source: wikipedia

*** Electrical detonator- Source: howstuffworks


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next two days were uneventful and _Seaview_ was about an hour ahead of schedule. Thursday night Lee wanted to take an early walk around the boat but he got a late start. Janet tried to stay awake until Lee returned from his walk but after not getting much sleep the last few nights she fell asleep while reading her book.

He opened the door and heard her crying in her sleep. He went over to the bunk and gently shook her awake.

"Sweetie, wake up. What's wrong?" he asked putting his arms around her as she opened her eyes and saw him. As she put her arms around his neck, she was sobbing hysterically. "Was it that dream again? Did you find out who it was that needed help?"

"No but Jamie had to operate to save them and they nearly died anyway. Lee I'm afraid the person is you," she replied frantically.

"Sweetheart, it was just a dream. Please calm down," Lee said as he wiped away her tears.

Still clinging to him she cried, "Lee I'm so worried about this mission. I'm convinced something is going to go wrong. Can you postpone it or get a real agent?"

"Sorry sweetie. Wayne is the top man in this type of demolition. I've worked with civilians before, please don't worry. I'll be fine," he assured her as he held her close.

They sat on the bunk holding each other for about an hour. Janet finally fell asleep in his arms. He laid her in the bunk while he got ready for bed and climbed in next to her. When Lee got into the bunk, Janet woke up again and clung to him the rest of the night. They both finally fell asleep around 0200 hours neither one of them getting much sleep.

((()))

Lee and Janet woke the next morning a little later than normal by Lee's standards as it was 0530 instead of 0500. As they got ready for work, Lee went over to her as she sat on the bunk watching him put his uniform on, "Sweetie everything will be alright. Please relax. I need to know you'll be okay while I'm gone."

"I will be fine just like I promised so please don't worry about me. Just do what you need to do and get back here safely."

Janet wasn't quite ready to go for breakfast so she would meet Lee down there in a few minutes. She went into the head to put on her makeup. It was very difficult to do with tears running down her face. She finally was ready and went to the wardroom.

((()))

The admiral, Jamie and Chip were eating breakfast when Lee arrived. "You're a little late this morning," Chip said looking at his watch.

"Sorry," Lee replied. "Remember that dream Janet told us about where someone needed Jamie to help them?"

"Yes, did she figure out who it was?"

"No," he told Chip. "She's very frustrated and upset that she doesn't know who it is."

"What dream?" Jamie asked.

"Janet's been having this dream where she wakes up asking someone to help him and not let him die. Besides that she's worried about this mission and the fact that Wayne isn't an agent." Lee explained.

"If she needs something to help her sleep…" Jamie offered.

"Thanks Jamie, but you know she doesn't react very well to sleeping pills."

"Do you think he can do the job?" the admiral wanted to know as he hadn't talked to Lee since his meeting with Wayne.

"Yes. He knows his job and I think he'll do what I tell him."

While Lee was talking Janet came into the wardroom. She went to the sideboard and took a couple of pieces of toast. She wasn't very hungry this morning in fact she had a stomachache. She got a cup of coffee. "Anyone else want coffee?" she asked before she sat down. All of them held up their cups. Smiling she grabbed the coffee pot and filled them all up then joined them at the table.

"Just toast?" Jamie asked looking at her and could tell she hadn't slept much.

"Not feeling well this morning."

They all looked at her. She knew what they were thinking, "No it's not that. Just worried but I'll be fine."

They finished up their breakfast. Chip and the admiral went to the control room while Jamie went to sick bay. Lee stayed a few minutes more with Janet.

"Sweetie, are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes Lee. You better go to the control room before Chip reports you late for duty," she smiled weakly.

((()))

Chip was in the control room and relieved Taper from duty. He was doing a good job on delta watch. Lee came in and saw Chip checking the log.

"Everything in order Chip," Lee asked.

"Yes sir. We're still on course and schedule."

"Good. Have you seen Wayne this morning? He didn't come down for breakfast."

"He's in the observation nose looking at the prints," Chip replied nodding his head in that direction.

"Thanks," Lee said and went over to him.

"Everything okay?" Lee asked, "Missed you at breakfast."

"Not hungry and just wanted to make sure where I'm placing the explosives. I like to double check everything."

"No problem," Lee answered and headed back to the control room.

"Chip, take the conn for awhile. I've got some paperwork to finish up and I have everything I need for tomorrow."

"Yes sir," Chip replied as he went back to his work at the plotting table.

Lee went to his cabin, finished up some paperwork and put it the folder on his desk for Janet. He pulled his backpack out of the closet, checked his gun, ammo, and canteen and got out his fatigues. When he had everything ready, he left the cabin and went to the arms locker, took a gun and some ammo for Wayne. He brought it back to his cabin and put it with his backpack. Everything checked and double checked he returned to the control room.

He had already left for the control room before Janet got to their cabin to look for him. She saw he had his gear packed and sighed. She left their cabin, taking the reports Lee had finished and went to her office. She still had some inventory to enter and now some reports to type up when the admiral called her on the phone.

"Janet, could you please come to my cabin?"

"Yes sir, I'll be right there." She got up from her desk and walked to the admiral's cabin and knocked on the door.

"Come in," the admiral answered as he sat at his desk.

Standing in front of the admiral's desk, "You wanted to see me sir?" Janet asked.

He looked up at her as he handed her a file of work, "I've got some letters I would like you to type up and have ready to go when we return to the institute regarding some proposals I've been looking over."

"No problem. I will have them done tomorrow," Janet told him with a wry grin.

"Okay," he said smiling.

"Sir, are you trying to keep me busy tomorrow while Lee is gone? Lee completed a lot of reports today, you have these letters and I bet Chip will have some reports for me tomorrow too along with the duty rosters."

"Yes you're on to me. I didn't know about Lee or Chip but that was my intention."

"Thank you sir," she said walking out the door.

((()))

The rest of the day went by very fast. Bobby O'Brien relieved Lee and Chip in the control room when their watch was over. Chip went to his cabin to do the duty rosters and also finish up some reports so Janet could type them up tomorrow. He wanted to keep her busy most of the day. Janet was in her office when Chip came in with a folder bulging with paperwork.

"I see you're trying to keep me occupied all day too," she said showing him what the admiral and Lee had given her.

"Guilty as charged," he smiled.

"Thanks for doing it. I'll need to be kept busy. Do you know where Lee is?"

"Right here," he replied standing behind Chip and heard her tell him about all the work, "I'm guilty too."

"Now that I'm going to be very busy tomorrow, how about we eat dinner? I didn't have lunch as I was too busy entering the inventory. Running this submarine sure generates a lot of paperwork."

Chip, Lee and Janet met the admiral, Jamie and Wayne in the wardroom for dinner.

"Wayne, are you all set for tomorrow?" the admiral asked as he sat down.

"Yes sir as ready as I can be. I reviewed the prints again and know exactly where I need to place the charges."

"Lee I assume you're ready also?"

"Yes sir already to go," Lee replied. Getting up from the table after finishing dinner Lee said, "Admiral, if you'll excuse us, I have some last minute packing to do."

"Sure Lee," he winked as he and Janet left the wardroom.

They rest of them sat there for a few more minutes before retiring to their cabins. All of them would be up early tomorrow when Lee and Wayne left for the island.

((()))

Lee and Janet walked back to their cabin. When they arrived at the door Lee opened it and let Janet go in first. He shut the door and locked it. He didn't want to be disturbed for the rest of the night. He had other plans besides packing. He walked over to Janet as she stood by his desk. He took her by the waist and drew her close.

"Sweetheart, please don't worry," he whispered as he rubbed her back, "I'll be fine."

"I know but all I think about is that dream," she replied softly resting her head on his chest.

"It was only a dream. Let's go to bed. I want to make sure you forget about that dream tonight," he told her as he unbuttoned her shirt and removed it along with rest of her clothing. She helped him take off his clothes and they climbed in the bunk where their bodies intertwined in love. As she lay close to him, he watched her sleeping peacefully..._no dreaming tonight, so far, _he thought.

Before he fell asleep, he reviewed in his mind what would take place in the morning, getting to the island, into the compound, blowing it up and getting out of there. He hoped Wayne would follow his instructions. He had only been sleeping for a couple of hours when Janet woke him up crying.

"Janet, wake up," Lee said as he gently shook her awake. She opened her eyes and found her husband looking at her with a concerned look on his face. She wiped away her tears and took a big sigh.

"Same dream again?" he asked rubbing her hands.

"Yes, but there's more details than before," she answered shuddering. "I still can't see who's in trouble and needs help but now there's someone else there and he has an envelope he keeps trying to hand me. He keeps telling me to take it and open it and somehow I know if I do something horrible is going to happen."

((()))

Lee and Janet finally fell back to sleep for a couple of hours before Lee woke up and prepared to leave. He went to the head and showered, when he came out he saw Janet sitting up in the bunk, "Sweetie, you don't have to get up, it's pretty early," he said as put on his fatigues, grabbed his backpack, canteen and Wayne's gun and ammo and prepared to walk out the cabin door.

"Lee Crane, are you crazy? I'm not letting you out of my sight until you're on that zodiac," she quipped as she quickly jumped in the shower and got dressed. He put the gear down and waited for her.

They walked out of their cabin and went to the wardroom so Lee could meet up with Wayne and grab some breakfast. As they walked in Lee was not overly surprised to find the admiral, Chip and Cookie waiting for them. He smiled apologetically then made his way to the food line to get a light breakfast to carry him through the mission.

Wayne walked into the wardroom seconds later dressed much like Lee. He set down his gear and headed for the food line also choosing a light meal. Conversation was decidedly light as everyone concentrated on what was about to happen. After they finished eating, Lee handed him the gun and ammo and which he put it in his backpack.

"Here skipper, I made some ham sandwiches for you and Mr. Kimball. You might get hungry. Give me your canteens so I can fill them with water," Cookie told them.

"Thanks Cookie," Lee replied when he handed the filled canteens back to them.

"Lee I'll need to get into the arms locker the get the blue bag with the C-4, wire, detonator, and blasting caps," Wayne said as he took his canteen from Lee.

"We'll pick it up on the way to the control room. Chip is the zodiac ready?"

"Yes Lee. Kowalski and Patterson have it ready and will take you to the island."

"All right then, let's get this show on the road," Lee replied as he shouldered his gear.

Leaving the wardroom, Chip and the admiral went straight to the control room while Lee, Wayne and Janet went to the arms locker and got Wayne's blue bag. Lee and Janet walked hand and hand as they made their way to the control room.

((()))

Chip and the admiral arrived in the control room where Mr. Taper was waiting for them. "We're stationed at two hundred yards off the coast and ready to surface the boat, sir," he reported to Chip.

"Surface the boat Mr. Taper."

"Aye sir." Taper gave the order and _Seaview_ slowly made her way to the surface.

"Good job, Mr. Taper," Chip told him smiling. He was doing a good job. They had made the right choice when they picked him to fill in for Jenkins.

"Thank you, sir."

Kowalski and Patterson along with the deck crew made their way up the ladder to the service hatch to launch the zodiac. They had it ready to go in ten minutes just as it was starting to get light.

"Mr. Morton the zodiac is ready to be launched," Kowalski reported from the deck.

"Thank you, Ski."

Lee, Wayne and Janet arrived in the control room and heard Kowalski's report.

"Please don't worry," he whispered as he gave Janet a kiss and hug.

"I'll try not to," she whispered back returning his hug and kiss.

"Take care, Lee, Wayne," the admiral told them as he shook their hands.

"Be careful," Chip said patting them both on the shoulder.

"Chip, once Kowalski and Patterson are back on board, dive and keep _Seaview_ at ninety feet. We'll keep in radio contact if possible. If we have no problems have the zodiac pick us up at 1900 hours. If we need it sooner I'll call."

"Yes Skipper."

Lee and Wayne made their way up the ladder to the service hatch while the admiral, Chip and Janet went up the ladder to the conning tower. Lee and Wayne got in the zodiac with Kowalski and Patterson. They motored to the island and helped them unload their gear out of the zodiac.

"Skipper, you sure you don't want me to go with you as back up," Kowalski asked quietly.

"No but thanks Ski. Just make sure you're back here to get us," Lee replied patting him on the shoulder.

"Aye sir," Kowalski answered worriedly.

((()))

The admiral, Chip and Janet were in the conning tower and watched as Kowalski and Patterson took Lee and Wayne to the island. Lee waved goodbye from the zodiac. Janet waved back as tears welled up in her eyes. The admiral saw them and gave her hand a squeeze.

"He'll be back," he assured her.

"Admiral I have a bad feeling about this mission more than any other mission he's been on," she replied guardedly.

Once Kowalski and Patterson had secured the zodiac and were back on board, the three of them left the conning tower and went to the control room where Chip told them to dive the boat. Now the waiting had begun.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Lee and Wayne watched Kowalski and Patterson motor back to _Seaview_ and waited until she slowly submerged into the water before they started their trek to the compound. The sun wasn't even up and it was already hot and humid. Walking through the jungle was difficult as there was a lot of undergrowth, trees and roots to walk over along with flies and gnats attacking them. Even though Wayne looked in good shape he was having a hard time keeping up with Lee.

"Lee, how about we stop for a minute," Wayne asked out of breath. "Sorry, I'm not in that good of shape to keep up your pace."

"Okay," Lee answered, "We're almost to the less dense part of the jungle.

They stopped and rested against a tree and took a drink of water from their canteens while Wayne caught his breath.

"Looks like I need to work out a little harder," Wayne declared. "You sure keep up a fast pace."

"Part of the conditioning I need to do as a SEAL," Lee answered taking another drink.

A few minutes later, Wayne was ready to continue but Lee did slow down the pace a bit. He didn't want to tire himself or Wayne out as it was getting hotter and more humid now that the sun had risen. When they reached the less dense part of the jungle Wayne had no problem keeping up with Lee. So far they have not seen or run into any of the villagers.

They came upon the back side of the compound. Leaving a wide berth around the compound, they slowly made their way to the front. Lee checked out the perimeter for cameras or detection equipment while Wayne waited in the brush before they would attempt to enter the front. While Lee was checking the perimeter, Wayne was looking for a place to put the electrical detonator. There was a spot about fifty yards from the entrance but still hidden by brush and large enough for him to hide it. He hid the detonator under the backpack. He took only the C-4 explosive and blasting caps which he put it in the pockets of his fatigues.

"No cameras or detection equipment and there are only two guards in the front. We're going to have to knock them out and take their uniforms," Lee told Wayne. "Ready?"

"Lee, take the wire and put it in your fatigues. I don't have any more room in mine," Wayne asked Lee as he handed him the wire. Okay let's go."

"Where's the detonator," Lee asked looking around for it.

"Under the backpack in the brush pile about fifty yards from the entrance, it's already to go. We just need to attach the wires."

"Good job. That will save us time later."

Wayne followed Lee to the front of the compound. Lee took his gun from his backpack and went up behind the guard and hit him on the back of the head while Wayne did the same thing on the other guard. They dragged them to the brush, tied them up, gagged them and took off their uniforms and put them on. They grabbed their guns and went to the front of the compound and down the stairs. They met two guards coming up the stairs to relieve the knocked out guards.

"All clear," Lee said to them as he and Wayne went down the stairs.

Lee and Wayne continued further into the compound. Their first stop was the back of the compound where the main electrical components were. Lee opened the door and checked to make sure no one was in there and found one guard was on duty.

"Hey, just helping the technicians place the wire for the new camera system," Lee told the guard.

"Camera system?" the guard said, "didn't know they were installing one of those. Go ahead and do what you need to do."

"Thanks," Lee replied looking a Wayne with a wry grin.

Wayne put the C-4 explosive and a blasting cap where he needed as he took the wire and ran it along the wall hiding it the best he could before taking it out the door. Both of them let out their breath and headed to the next area hiding the wire along the wall as they went along. The next two areas were both clear of personnel so they set up the explosives, hid the wires under the bottom of the wall and pulled them out the door again hiding them along the floor. They only had the laboratory left. When they got there, only one scientist was working. He looked up from what he was doing.

"Just installing the wiring for a new camera monitoring system," Lee told him as Wayne went to the corner he wanted to use. He placed the C-4, wired it up, pushed the wire under some tables and desks and pulled the wire out the door.

As they were leaving a guard came down the hall. "Who are you and what are you doing here," he demanded looking at Lee and Wayne.

"Helping the technicians install the wiring for the new camera monitoring system," Wayne explained showing him the wire.

"What the hell, I know nothing about a camera monitoring system," he said sharply. Before he could draw his gun on them, Lee who had gotten behind the guard hit him on the head with his gun and knocked him out but he already activated an alarm on his radio. A siren started blaring immediately.

"We better get the hell out of here now," Lee yelled as he and Wayne ran for the stairs dragging all the wires with them. Wayne had to stop and untangle some of the wires that got hung up on the door. He saw a guard coming at him but couldn't get out of the way before the guard took a shot at him catching him in the shoulder. He continued up the stairs and out the door not too far behind Lee. Lee ran to the brush where the detonator was. Seeing Wayne holding his arm as blood ran down his sleeve, Lee quickly connected the wires to the detonator. Neither man saw the guard leave the compound.

Wayne started the count down, "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, he pressed down the 'charge' button at five, four, three, two, one." When he got to one he pressed the 'fire' button.

Both men ducked in the brush as the building imploded. There was very little debris flying around. When the dust cloud cleared Wayne wanted to survey the scene and make sure the building was completely destroyed. He and Lee walked over to where the building once stood. All that was left was a pile of rubble. The safe room where the chemical and deadly biological weapons were stored was buried under the pile of concrete along with a mountain of dirt. Lee checked his watch so he could record the time of demolition for his report. It was 1700 hours.

"Good job. I guess you do know what you're doing," Lee said shaking his hand, "Let me look at your arm."

"I'm okay, just stings a little. Wires got tangled in the door and he caught me as I untangled them."

The guard, unprepared for the implosion was knocked off his feet and temporarily disorientated.

((()))

After they left the conning tower Chip gave the order to dive the boat. _Seaview_ would stay at ninety feet until Lee called to be picked up. Kowalski and Patterson were ready for the call.

Chip was in the control room looking at the sonar, radar and radio shack mentally trying to figure out how to make the changes for the upgrades. The admiral was in his lab working on a research project he had been putting off. Janet was in her office working on all the reports, letters, inventory and whatever else they gave her to keep her busy. She had gotten most of it done. She looked at her watch and couldn't believe it was already 1200 hours. She was too worried to eat breakfast but now she was hungry. She left her office and went down to the control room. Chip saw her come down the staircase and went over to her when she got to the bottom.

"You okay?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes, I've gotten most of the work done but I need a break and I'm hungry. Can you get away for lunch?"

"Sure. Just let me turn the conn over to O'Brien," Chip said surprised that she was hungry.

"Mr. O'Brien, please take over the conn for a few minutes."

"Aye, sir."

((()))

Chip and Janet walked out the aft hatch into the passageway that led to the wardroom. Jamie was there with the admiral and had just sat down to eat. Cookie gave Chip and Janet some homemade chicken soup with a salad and sandwich. Chip took both of them but Janet only wanted the salad. Chip sat down next to Jamie while Janet sat down next to the admiral.

"Everything alright Janet," Jamie asked suspicious that she wanted to eat lunch.

"Just fine. Why do you ask," she replied with a smirk.

"You normally don't eat while Lee is gone."

Taking a bite of her salad she said, "Just keeping my promise I made to Lee."

"Chip have we heard anything from Lee?" the admiral asked nervously.

"Nothing sir. But it's still early," he answered as he ate his sandwich.

They finished their lunches and went back to what they were doing. Janet didn't need the computer for the work she had to do so she would spend the rest of the day in the observation nose. She wanted to be there when Lee called to be picked up. The admiral came down to the observation nose at 1700 hours to wait for Lee's call by then Janet had all her work done was starting to pace. They were a little worried that they had not heard from him at all.

((()))

As Lee and Wayne looked over the destroyed compound, the guard came to his senses and saw them standing there. Lee took the radio out of his fatigues and was turning around to walk away from the compound when he saw the guard taking aim at Wayne. He pushed him away as the guard started shooting.

Lee felt the searing pain as the bullets slammed into his abdomen and chest. He fell to the ground as Wayne ran over to him. He grabbed Lee's gun and shot the guard before he could get off any more shots.

Nearly incapacitated by pain, Lee managed to grab the radio and make contact. "_Seaview._"

"Mr. Morton I have a call from the skipper's radio," Sparks yelled across the control room.

Chip ran to the radio shack followed by the admiral and Janet. "_Seaview_," Chip answered. "Lee."

"Chip..." Lee gasped before passing out.

"Lee," Chip yelled again.

Wayne turned his attention to Lee and quickly peeled the radio out of his hand. "Chip, send help. Lee's been shot. It's bad," Wayne said frantically.

"Mr. O'Brien, surface the boat." Chip ordered immediately.

"Kowalski, Patterson, be ready to launch the zodiac as soon as we broach the surface," Chip said as he went to the weapon cabinet in the observation nose and got out three guns.

While Chip was ordering the boat to surface, the admiral called sick bay. "Jamie you better get up here. Lee's been shot. We don't know how badly."

"I'll be right there. How soon before they get him on board?"

"Jamie it might be a least thirty minutes or more," the admiral sighed.

Janet just stood there stunned at what she heard over the radio. The admiral caught her before she fell to the floor.

"Easy girl," he said softly, "we don't know how badly he's hurt."

He led her back to the observation nose and sat her down. _Seaview_ surfaced in record time. Chip, Kowalski and Patterson launched the zodiac and were on the way to the beach within five minutes of Wayne's call. Wasting no time Kowalski gunned the motor on the zodiac and made it to the beach in ten minutes but had no idea where to go.

"Wayne, this is Morton," Chip called frantically on the radio, "where are you located?"

"We're two miles from the beach straight through the jungle where the zodiac left us off. You better hurry."

Wayne turned Lee over and could see he was badly wounded and was having a hard time breathing. He tried to stop the bleeding but had little to work with. He took off his guard uniform and tore off the sleeves to use as bandages.

"Lee, hang in there," Wayne pleaded. "You'll be on _Seaview_ soon."

Lee groaned as Wayne picked him up and started to carry him through the jungle. Wayne made it through the first mile in record time; adrenaline was a fantastic force. Now gasping for breath and needing a quick break he gently laid Lee down so he could check on him. He had bled through the bandages he put on and his breathing was more labored than before.

As Wayne picked him up he let out a soft moan, "Sorry Lee," he told him as he started through the dense jungle.

He got half way through the jungle when by some miracle he met up with the men from _Seaview_. Placing Lee down on the ground, trying to catch his breath Wayne told them, "I tried to stop the bleeding but I didn't have any bandages."

Kowalski took a quick look at Lee. He was pale, unconscious, barely had a pulse, and having a lot of trouble breathing.

"Mr. Morton we have to get him back now, he's barely hanging on. He's bleeding pretty badly and I think his lung has been damaged," he reported after putting his ear to his chest.

Chip and Patterson put Lee on the stretcher they brought with and began running through the jungle back towards the beach. Wayne and Kowalski took the lead clearing the trees and brush in the way. They finally made it to the beach were the zodiac was beached. They put Lee in the zodiac and Kowalski took off at full speed. Chip had a difficult time holding on to the stretcher. With the stretcher and an extra person they all wouldn't fit in the zodiac so Patterson and Wayne stayed behind for the next trip.

((()))

The deck detail was waiting for them as soon as they got to _Seaview_. Chip got out of the zodiac and on the deck of the boat. Kowalski handed Lee to him and Riley. They carried him to the sail hatch where Frank and Chief Sharkey were waiting to lower him down the ladder into the control room. They gently lowered Lee's limp body into the control room onto the waiting stretcher. Jamie took a quick look at him and sighed deeply. Riley took the zodiac back to the island to pickup Patterson and Wayne.

The admiral and Janet were waiting by the periscope island for Lee to come down and saw he was covered in blood when the placed him on the stretcher. Chip came down the ladder covered in his blood. Kowalski came down next and he too was covered in Lee's blood. Jamie led the way while Kowalski and John carried him out of the control room to sick bay with Janet, Chip and the admiral not too far behind.

Once in sick bay, Jamie did a quick assessment. He ordered Frank to start an IV to infuse plasma expanders, a line for blood, another line for fluids and medication and an oxygen mask. Lee's breathing was labored; his pulse was fast, weak and thready. His heart rate was up trying to compensate for his severe loss of blood volume. The admiral, Chip and Janet crowded into the examination room.

"You need to wait in my office. I need to find out how badly he is hurt, I will let you know what I find out," Jamie told them as he closed the pleated curtain that separated his office from the examination and operating rooms.

After examining him, he found his left lung was collapsed due to a gunshot wound to the chest. Thankfully neither of his lungs was pierced by the bullet but he would have to put in a chest tube to remove any air and blood in his left chest cavity allowing his lung to re-inflate. He also found two gunshot wounds in his abdomen. He would have to do surgery to find out what was damaged. Given Lee's vitals, he knew he didn't have much time; he was barely holding on.

"Doc, do you want me to leave?" Kowalski asked softly.

"No I could use an extra set of hands," Jamie said grateful that he was a trained medic.

"Tell me what I can do," Kowalski replied as he washed his hands.

"Help John prepare him for surgery," Jamie told him as he went to his office.

Kowalski and John made quick work of cutting off Lee's fatigues and covering him with a sheet while Jamie went to talk to Janet, the admiral and Chip.

"I don't have much time. His lung has collapsed; he has lost a lot of blood, and also has two gunshot wounds to the abdomen. I need to operate to find out what has been damaged."

"Please help him. Don't let him die," Janet begged Jamie. As soon as she said the words she realized it _**was**_ Lee she saw in her dreams. Everything suddenly came into focus as the details of her dream became clear; the guard shooting someone, her begging Jamie to help him, Jamie operating. The significance of the envelope immediately became clear as well and she sat down heavily as her legs threatened to give way. The 'letter' that damned letter. She desperately hoped that that part of her dream where she had to open that envelope and follow those instructions contained in the letter didn't come to pass.

Jamie left them standing there while he closed the curtain again and scrubbed for surgery.

Tears running down her face, all she could say was, "Chip my dream...it's all coming true."

He put his arms around her, "He'll be alright," Chip told her not really sure he believed it as he tried to comfort her.

Looking at the admiral Chip said quietly, "I'm going to change and get _Seaview_ underway. I'll be back in thirty minutes. If anything..."

"Okay Chip. I'll find you."

Before he could leave sick bay Wayne and Patterson came running in to check on Lee.

"Just wanted to make sure he got here okay, Mr. Morton," Patterson told Chip holding Lee's backpack.

"Thanks Pat. Could you please put that in the skipper's cabin and report back to duty?"

"Yes sir."

"How is he," Wayne asked wincing in pain.

Janet, Chip and the admiral noticed he was also wounded as his shoulder was bleeding pretty badly.

"Not so good," the admiral told him as he made him sit down as he looked like he was going to pass out.

The admiral took a look at his shoulder and could see his arm was badly wounded. Janet went to the cabinet in the outer office and got some bandages and put them on his wound trying to stop it from bleeding the best she could.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Wayne said to Janet as she bandaged his arm.

"What happened," the admiral asked carefully, "how were you and Lee shot?"

"We wired the building and were getting ready to leave when a guard figured out what we were doing. Lee knocked him out but not before he set off an alarm. Another guard shot me when I had to untangle the wires that were caught on the door. He must have gotten out of the building before it imploded. Lee and I were checking to make sure that the safe room was encased in concrete and dirt. Lee turned around to radio _Seaview_ to come and get us and the next thing I know I'm laying on the ground and Lee was shot. He pushed me out of the way. The guard must have been knocked out, come to and saw us standing there. I shot him before he could get another shot at me," he told them softly as tears formed in his eyes. "Why did he do that?"

Janet looked at him, "He would never let anyone get hurt even if it costs him his own life."

((()))

Chip left sick bay to change and get _Seaview_ back to Santa Barbara. He went to his cabin where he took a Navy three minute shower and changed into a clean uniform. He had never seen Lee in such bad shape and was very worried. Taking a deep breath he left his cabin and made his way to the control room. When he got there the control room crew looked at him.

"He's badly wounded but still alive," he told them as he walked over to the plotting table where O'Brien was standing, "We need to get this boat back home now. Mr. O'Brien set a course for Santa Barbara and run at flank speed."

"Course is already set just waiting for your orders. Sir, we can't run at flank that long we'll burn out the engines," Bobby told him quietly.

"Run at flank during the day. When Scott comes on duty reduce speed to full for the night," Chip told him knowing he was right.

"Aye, sir."

"Mr. O'Brien can you handle everything up here for the rest of the watch?" Chip asked running his hand through his hair.

"Yes sir but please let us know how the skipper is when you can?"

"Will do and thanks."

"Don't worry sir. We'll get us back home," O'Brien assured him.

Chip left the control room and headed back to sick bay as he heard O'Brien give the crew the course and speed.

((()))

Feeling _Seaview_ pick up speed, the admiral knew Chip had given the orders to run at flank speed. Chip returned to sick bay and looked at the closed doors. "Any news?" he asked desperately.

The admiral shook his head. As they sat there waiting the phone rang on Jamie's desk breaking the dead silence in the room.

"Morton," Chip said softly, "Okay Sparks, put the call in here."

"Who is it?" the admiral demanded.

"Admiral Johnson. He wants to talk to Lee."

"Damn. His timing stinks," the admiral replied as he grabbed the phone from Chip. "Nelson," the admiral said tensely.

"Harry I haven't heard from Lee regarding the mission," Johnson said tersely, "Everything alright?"

"No Gerald. Right now Lee Crane is fighting for his life. We don't even know if he's going to live so I don't give a damn about your mission."

"Is Kimball there? If so, let me talk to him," Johnson asked curtly. The admiral handed the phone to Wayne.

"Kimball, sir. Everything has been taken care of. The compound is a pile of rubble. The safe room was contained and is now buried under tons of dirt."

"Are you okay?" Johnson inquired worriedly.

"Just a shoulder wound. I'll tell you later what happened. I've got to go," Wayne replied handing the phone back to the admiral.

"Harry as soon as you know anything please let me know. Despite what you think, I do care about what happens to Lee," Johnson said cautiously.

"I will let you know," Harry replied disgustedly. He hung up the phone and said a few choice curse words under his breath.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Jamie, Frank, John and Kowalski had their hands full. After they administered the anesthesia Jamie had to put him on a ventilator as he was having too much trouble breathing. Frank put in a catheter so they could monitor his output. They had already given him two units of his blood type AB- and Frank had just started a third one. Jamie had only four units on board and with Lee's rare blood type he knew donors were limited. There were only two crew members that had his blood type; Jenkins and Taper.

"Frank if we need to give him the fourth unit, go get Jenkins and Taper down here to donate blood," Jamie said impatiently.

Looking up from what he was doing, "Sorry sir, only Taper is on board and he's on duty. Jenkins is on his honeymoon," Kowalski told him.

"Damn," Jamie replied angrily.

As Jamie operated on Lee he found that there were two bullets in his body. His abdominal area was filled with blood. He had Kowalski suction it out so he could see what he was doing while Frank and John helped Jamie find where the blood was coming from. As fast as he suctioned it out it filled up again. Jamie finally caught a break and saw that Lee's spleen had been ruptured by a bullet and was damaged beyond repair so he removed it but he was still bleeding. Kowalski suctioned again and he saw that Lee's liver was lacerated and his kidney was nicked. Jamie repaired his liver after taking out the bullet and the kidney wasn't nicked too badly so he could repair it. They had been operating on him for six hours. Jamie checked to make sure there were no bleeders, closed him up and put bandages over the incision.

"Doc do you want us to move him to a bunk?" John asked as they covered him with a clean sheet.

"No leave him here for now. I don't want to move him just yet in case I have to go back in. Thanks Kowalski for your help."

"Any time Doc. Will he make it?"

"Right now I'm not sure. He's in grave condition," Jamie sighed heavily.

The four of them were exhausted as it had been a long and difficult surgery. "Kowalski, Frank, get cleaned up and Kowalski, you're relieved for the night. I'm sure you have duty first thing in the morning so please get some rest."

Kowalski was about to protest when Jamie gave him one of his 'I'm in charge' looks. "I'll let you know if any thing happens," Jamie told them as he patted them on the shoulder, "Thanks men."

((()))

Jamie opened the pleated curtain with a grim look on his face. Janet, the admiral, Chip and Wayne were sitting there waiting for him. They all stood up when he came out. He still had on his surgical gown covered in Lee's blood. Seeing the look on Jamie's face, Janet grabbed the admiral's and Chip's hand.

"Is he..." she whispered tears streaming down her cheeks.

Going over to her he took her hands in his, "No, but he's in very grave condition. His lung collapsed from a bullet wound that entered and exited his chest cavity. I repaired the hole and it should heal. There were two more bullets in his abdomen. One lacerated his liver and nicked his kidney and I was able to repair both of those. The other bullet ruptured his spleen so I had to remove it as there was too much damage to repair. I have him heavily sedated and he is on a ventilator to help him breathe He also has a catheter, two IV lines, one for blood and the other for fluids allowing me to piggy back antibiotics and inject pain medication. He's still unconscious. The next two hours are critical."

Wiping away her tears Janet asked, "Jamie, can he live without his spleen?"

"Yes, he can live without his spleen, but he will have to be very careful about getting an infection. He's going to be more susceptible to them with out it and we will have to get him on antibiotics as soon as we know he has an infection."

Jamie noticed Wayne sitting there with a bandage on his shoulder. "Mr. Kimball I'll take care of your shoulder in a few minutes," Jamie told him.

"I'm fine, Doc. I can wait."

Jamie gave him a wry grin.

"I could have a problem though," Jamie continued running his hand over his head, "I've already given him three units of blood. I only had four on standby. He's getting the last unit now. If he needs more there's only one crewman on board that has type AB- blood."

Chip asked quickly, "Who is it, Jamie. I'll have him down here right now."

"Scott Taper and I understand he's on duty."

Sighing deeply Chip replied, "Yes he's on duty for awhile yet. I'll go relieve him so he can donate."

"Chip, you're in no condition to go back on duty," the admiral stated emphatically.

Chip knew the admiral was right but told him, "Admiral, O'Brien spent all day up there and Sparks' been on duty all day too. We have no one right now."

Pausing for a second the admiral responded, "Check and see where we are. See if we can go to the bottom for the night. Jamie, if we wait five hours before setting sail again will it make a difference?"

"No Admiral. It doesn't matter where we are. Right now there is nothing more that can be done but wait."

"Can we see him?" Janet asked quietly when they finished talking.

"Yes, you can see him but only for awhile."

Jamie took her hand as they walked into the operating room. Lee was on the gurney covered only with a sheet. Janet went over to him and kissed his forehead as tears ran down her face. He was lying there so still and deathly gray. All she could hear was the ventilator hissing as it put the air in his lungs and the heart monitor softly beeping with every beat of his heart. She picked up the sheet and saw his whole abdomen covered in bandages.

Chip brought Janet a chair where she put it by Lee's side near his hand. She took her hand and put it under his and rubbed his thumb. With all the lines he had attached that was the only place she could safely hold his hand.

Chip went over to him and patted his shoulder. "Come on bro, you've got to pull through," he told Lee tearing up.

"Son, we need you back here," the admiral said softly.

"You have to go, he doesn't know you're here and the four of you look like hell. Go to your cabins. I'll stay here tonight along with John," Jamie ordered them.

Refusing to leave his side, "Not until he makes it past the two hour mark," Janet said defiantly.

"Okay, you can stay until then," Jamie conceded seeing the admiral wasn't budging either. Chip gave him a look that told him he would be back too. John went to Jamie's office and retrieved two more chairs and placed them by Lee's bedside.

((()))

Chip went to the control room to see if they could go to the bottom to stay the night so Scott could donate blood. Jamie wouldn't allow him back on duty for eight hours. When he got there the whole crew looked at him pleading for information.

"He's still alive. But just barely," Chip said tiredly.

Chip went over to the sonar station to see if they were anywhere near a plateau where they could set _Seaview_ down safely for the night. About one hundred yards away was a place she would fit. Giving instructions to the helmsmen, Chip carefully and smoothly set her in place.

Clicking the mic Chip said, "Engine room, stop all engines."

"Engine room, aye."

He could feel the engines shut down as they rested on the bottom. "We're going to stay here for the night," Chip told the control room. "Scott I need you to come with me."

"Yes sir," he replied following Chip into the observation nose.

"Captain Crane may need another unit of blood and I understand you're the only donor available. Would you please donate a unit? I can't force you to do this," Chip explained cautiously.

Without hesitation, "Tell me where to go," Scott said immediately.

"Let's go to sick bay and Doc will get you set up. And Scott."

"Yes Mr. Morton."

"Thank you."

"No problem. I would do anything for him."

As they walked out of the control room the only sounds were the sonar and radar stations beeping.

((()))

By the time Chip and Scott arrived back at sick bay, Jamie had taken care of Wayne's shoulder and ordered him to his cabin. His shoulder was worse then he thought and Jamie had to do a lot of repairs to it. He had John walk him back to his cabin and gave him a shot of pain medication and a sleeping pill. His shoulder would be quite sore for a few days and he needed to sleep.

((()))

Jamie took Scott to the examination room where he set him up to donate blood. John monitored him while Jamie went to get a report on Lee's vitals from Frank who was observing Lee's condition and constantly assessing the information given by the medical monitors and machinery that were helping to keep Lee alive. Frank would notify Jamie immediately if there were any significant changes in his condition.

Jamie could see the pain in Janet's face because he knew she would be devastated if something happened to Lee. He left the three of them sitting there. He sat down in his office and rested his head in his hands. He had taken care of Lee Crane's injuries for a long time but this was the worst he had ever seen him. He didn't think he was going to make it. Everything now depended on Lee Crane and his will to live. Scott finished donating his blood and was rolling down the sleeve on his uniform when Jamie went to talk to him before John walked him back to his quarters.

"Thank you Scott," Jamie said sincerely.

"No problem doc. If you need more...," Scott volunteered.

"Sorry you can't give any more," Jamie replied with a slight grin

Sighing, "I know. I just wanted to help anyway that I can," Scott said dejectedly.

When John returned, Jamie took Frank and him aside. "You're both relieved from duty. It's been a long day." Jamie told them tiredly.

"Doc, if we both go now there'll be no one to take over tomorrow," John said, "Frank was on duty all day. I only came on duty when I heard the call that the skipper was hurt. It was only two hours before I was scheduled to come on. I can stay here for the night. This way Frank will be able to help you tomorrow."

Sighing Jamie replied, "Thanks John. I wasn't sure what I was going to do tomorrow. That will work out great. Frank, please report for duty at 0700."

"Aye sir," Frank said walking out of sick bay dead on his feet. Jamie went back to the operating room to check on Lee.

((()))

As Janet, Chip and the admiral sat by Lee's side, the alarms on Lee's monitors started blaring and Jamie didn't like what he saw. His blood pressure was dropping. His heart rate was increasing trying to compensate for the falling blood pressure. Jamie told John to increase the flow of Lee's IV with a dopamine drip in hopes that this would raise his blood pressure. He was still very gray looking but there's nothing more Jamie could do but wait as the next forty-eight hours were crucial to his recovery. He motioned to Chip and the admiral to follow him into his office.

"We'll be right back," Chip whispered softly to Janet.

"Okay," she replied her eyes never leaving Lee's face as she continued to rub his thumb.

Rubbing his hand on his forehead Jamie asked them, "Has Lee made any provisions of what should be done if he dies?"

Shocked at what Jamie was asking them Chip answered quietly, "Yes there is a letter in his office with instructions on what we are to do. Jamie is he really that bad?"

"Right now yes. I don't think he's going to make it another hour," Jamie said sadly.

"Jamie..." was all Chip could say visibly shaken at what Jamie just told them.

Even though they were talking softly Janet knew what they were talking about. She put her hand on his leg and gave it a squeeze. "You promised me Lee Benjamin Crane. You promised me I wouldn't have to use the 'letter'," she sobbed softly remembering his promise from two and half years ago. "Please don't die," she continued sobbing as she rested her head on his leg. Janet flashed back to that day over two years ago when Lee presented her with the 'letter'.

((()))

**Two and half years earlier **

_The admiral, Chip, Lee and Janet were in the control room at the plotting table when Sparks called to Lee. "Skipper I have a message from Admiral Johnson in your personal code."_

_Lee paled and then walked over to the radio shack and took the message from Sparks._

_"Lee what's wrong," Janet, Lee's wife, of two months asked concerned that even with his olive skin she could see how pale he was._

_"Nothing, I'll be right back," he replied as he went up the spiral staircase to his cabin to decode the message._

_"Admiral, who is Admiral Johnson and why is he sending Lee a message in code?" Janet asked innocently._

_The admiral and Chip looked at each other. They could tell she had no idea who Admiral Johnson was and realized that Lee had not told her about ONI and his missions._

_Chip finally spoke up, "Janet, Lee will have to tell you who he is."_

_"Okay, Chip," Janet answered totally bewildered at what had taken place._

_Lee came back to the control room a few minutes later and went directly to the radio shack where he handed Sparks a piece of paper. He then returned to the plotting table where the rest of them were still standing._

_"Lee could I see you in the observation nose for a moment," the admiral asked unhappily._

_"Yes sir," he replied knowing what the admiral was going to ask. They walked to the observation nose where the admiral closed the doors between the control room and the observation nose._

_"Chip what's going on...is Lee okay...what was that message about?"_

_"I'm sure Lee will tell you when he's done talking to the admiral."_

_"Okay," she replied looking very worried._

_((()))_

_The admiral and Lee stood in the observation nose looking out the windows, "Son," the admiral started, "she doesn't know about your work for ONI and that you're a spy does she?"_

_"No sir," he replied running his hand through his hair, "I tried to tell her a few times before we got married but we got interrupted and I never got to finish. Then planning the wedding so quickly and Seaview's missions I totally forgot about it. Johnson hadn't called in a few months so it slipped my mind. I know that's no excuse."_

_"Well it looks like you're going to have to tell her now. Are you ready to face the fact that she may not want to be married to spy and that she may leave you?"_

_"Admiral I guess I'm going to have to face it now. If she wants to leave me I will have no one to blame but myself," he answered sadly._

_The admiral opened the doors and looked at Janet and Chip still standing by the plotting table._

_Walking over to the plotting table, "Chip you have the conn," Lee sighed._

_"Aye sir."_

_"Janet, please come with me," he said taking her hand and led her up the spiral staircase to their cabin._

_The admiral and Chip watched as they went up the staircase. The whole control room could see the pain in their skipper's eyes as they also realized his wife didn't know he was a spy._

_Sighing deeply the admiral looked at Chip, "I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now."_

_"Me either," Chip replied feeling sorry for his best friend and 'brother'._

_((()))_

_Arriving at their cabin, Lee opened the door and followed her in as she entered. He led her to the bunk, sat down next to her and took her hands in his._

_"Lee what's going on...please tell me...who's Admiral Johnson?" she asked softly._

_Taking a deep breath Lee started, "Besides working for the institute, I also work for the Office of Naval Intelligence or ONI. Have you ever heard of them?"_

_"No should I know of them?"_

_"Not necessarily. They're similar to the CIA."_

_"I heard of the CIA but what does that have to do with you?" she asked puzzled._

_Knowing there was no easy way to tell her, Lee gently blurted out, "Sweetheart, I'm a spy and Admiral Johnson is the man I report to when I work for ONI. I go on missions around the world. I extract people out of foreign countries, infiltrate countries to get information our government wants, and apprehend people working against our government and whatever else ONI needs me to do. I can be gone from days, weeks or sometimes even months depending what I have to do."_

_"You need to leave the institute and Seaview?" she asked confused._

_"Sweetie, yes I do. I've been all over the world on these missions."_

_"Is that where you got all those scars...Are they from being shot?" After some of the missions she's been on since she was hired, she figured the scars were from encounters on Seaview's other missions._

_"Yes, I've been shot, stabbed, beaten up, tortured, brain washed and have broken many bones. Sometimes my life depends on other people getting me out of these places. Seaview's had to rescue me from some of these missions more times that I can count. "_

_"Have you ever had to kill someone?" she asked staring at her hands._

_"Yes unfortunately I've had to kill people to save my life and the lives of people I've had to rescue." He continued, "I'm very sorry I never told you about this part of my life. I tried many times but never got to finish. After we got married and Admiral Johnson hadn't called me I just forgot." He quickly added, "I know that's no excuse. I will understand if you want a divorce or have our marriage annulled. I won't stand in your way if you want to leave me. But please know I love you more than anything in this world and I've never been so happy."_

_"Is there anything else I need to know about?" she asked shocked at what he just told her._

_"Yes, there is one more thing," he replied going over to his desk, opening the third drawer, digging way in the back and pulled out an enveloped marked 'The Letter'. "Please read this. I need you to agree to what's in this letter. It is very important to me that these instructions are followed."_

_He handed her the unsealed envelope, got up from the bunk and sat at his desk tapping his fingers together while she read the letter. As she was reading it, he saw tears welling up in her eyes and then falling down her cheeks._

_"Lee this tells me how to dispose of your body if something happens to you while on Seaview or on an ONI mission that has gone wrong and they bring you back dead or you're so badly injured that you'll never completely recover that no extreme measures are to be used to keep you alive."_

_"Yes it does. The sea is my life and that's where I want to be buried. Also if the situation is so grave that the only way I can be kept alive is with a machine, I don't want that type of existence and want you to let me go. In my lines of work I needed to make sure everything was covered and that you are taken care of. After we got married, I signed a new contract with NIMR and have a provision in there that allows you to stay and work at the institute if you so choose for as long as you want and you can live at our house until you decide to move. **You** are the most important thing in my life. Nothing else matters to me but you."_

_"Lee, are these missions that dangerous?" she asked wiping the tears from her cheeks._

_"Yes, they can be very dangerous and sometimes deadly," he replied getting up from his desk and sat next her on the bunk_

_Holding the letter in her hand she told him softly, "Lee, I need think about this before I give you an answer."_

_"I understand take as much time as you need and I'm very sorry I didn't tell you about this before we got married."_

_"I'm assuming because Admiral Johnson called you have mission to go on?"_

_"Yes. I will need to leave in a few days. I'm going with another agent," Lee replied giving her a kiss on the cheek and left her sitting on the bunk. "I'll be in the wardroom if you need me." He left their cabin and walked down to the wardroom praying she wouldn't leave him._

_((()))_

_Still holding the letter in her hand, Janet sat there for a few minutes trying to digest everything she just learned. I love him so much. He's the best thing that has happened to me but he's a spy...he could be killed on a mission...can I live with him being gone and not knowing if he'll come back dead or alive...can I follow his instructions and bury him at sea? She thought. After a while she couldn't sit anymore, so she put the letter on the desk and started to pace back and forth in the cabin. She went over to the desk, picked up the letter and read it again. After fifteen minutes she made her decision and left for the wardroom._

_((()))_

_Lee went to the wardroom and got a cup of coffee. Cookie tried to give him some dinner but he shook his head no. He didn't hassle him about eating as he had heard the scuttlebutt about Janet not knowing he worked for ONI. Lee sat down across from the admiral and Chip who were facing the door._

_"Did you tell her?" Chip asked quietly._

_"Yes I did. I also told her about 'the letter' too. I figured I might as well put everything out in the open. I don't want to have any more secrets from her. If you saw the look on her face when I told her about ONI and then when she read the letter..." Lee couldn't finish the sentence. He continued, "After I told her about ONI, I told her if she wanted a divorce or to have our marriage annulled I wouldn't stop her. I told her I wasn't honest with her and if she wanted to leave me I would understand."_

_"I'm sorry this had to happen," the admiral said sadly._

_"Me too, admiral, but it's my own damn fault," Lee replied running his hand through his hair. "I should have told her up front but maybe I didn't say anything because I was afraid I would lose her and I still might anyway. She's the best thing that has ever happened to me. Sorry admiral even accepting the job on Seaview takes second to marrying her."_

_"I understand son. I have to admit I've grown to love her as a daughter."_

_The three of them sat silently in the wardroom room drinking their coffee and waiting for what seemed to be an eternity when Chip looked up from his coffee. "Lee, she's standing at the door. I guess you'll know soon enough. Good luck bro," Chip told him softly._

_((()))_

_Lee quickly got up from the table and went to the door where Janet was standing. "I need to talk to you. Is there someplace we can go?"_

_Lee took her hand and led her to the storage room next door to the wardroom. Not the best place to talk but he cleared a spot for them to sit down on some crates and took her hands in his._

_With tears in her eyes she told him, "Lee, I wish you had told me sooner that you were a spy. Even if you told me before we were married, I still would have married you. I love you too much to leave you. I will stay with you even though I have a feeling that I'm going to be in for some very rough times. I also signed the letter as I know you love being at sea and it's been your whole life. But I do have one request, please don't make me follow through with what 'the letter' asks," she pleaded._

_Breathing a sigh of relief he replied, "I love you too and I promise I will do my best not to make you open that letter again." They stood up, he gathered her in his arms, and gave her a kiss and hug. "Thank you," he whispered quietly not letting her go._

_"One more thing," she asked solemnly. "Is there anything else I need to know about?"_

_"Sweetheart, you know everything. I have no more secrets."_

_"Okay," she answered returning his kiss while still in his arms where they stayed for a few more minutes._

_He took her hand as they left the storage room and went back to the wardroom where the admiral and Chip were waiting for them. They could see the relief on both their faces and knew she was staying with him._

_"She's staying," Lee told them happily._

_"I'm glad you're going to stay with him," Chip said with a smile. "He would have been a real bear to work with had you dumped him and taken up with me," he teased._

_"Thanks for your support bro," Lee grinned. Janet smiled at the remark too. She knew he would be a bear to work with._

_"I'm glad you staying too," the admiral replied squeezing her hand._

_"Me too," she replied as she looked lovingly at her husband._


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Present**

Janet stood up when the three closest men in Lee's life came back to the room. They could see she had been crying. "I know what you were talking about," she said so softly they could barely hear her. The admiral put his arm around her and she began to sob uncontrollably. They all had tears in their eyes too.

Finally able to control herself Janet begged, "Jamie, please wait before you do anything, please."

"I won't do anything right now. I gave him two hours and I will wait the two hours," Jamie assured her.

Janet sat back down and put her one hand under his and rubbed his thumb and put her other hand on his leg. "Lee Crane you've got one hour to improve," she said softly.

The three men went back to Jamie's office and left the two of them alone.

((()))

Janet sat there with her hand on his leg when suddenly the alarms on the machines started blaring again. Jamie burst into the room followed closely by the admiral and Chip. Jamie rapidly began assessing his patient to identify the problem; he checked blood pressure and other vital signs and while they weren't the best they were no worse. He next checked the electrodes attached to his body that monitored his heart and one of them had come loose because of the bandages. After reattaching the electrode the monitor stopped blaring and picked up Lee's heart beat.

The admiral looked at his watch, "Jamie he's made it past the two hours."

"I know admiral. He's still not out of the woods by a long shot. He survived this long but the next forty eight hours are still critical. How long before we get to Santa Barbara?"

Chip answered, "Right now we're on the bottom. We'll take her up and resume course for home as soon as O'Brien comes on duty. If we have no problems, two and half days."

"I'll have a better answer for you by then. But right now the three of you are going to your cabins for some sleep. There's nothing you can do for him now."

The three of them started to protest but Jamie stood his ground.

"Please let me stay here," Janet pleaded, "I'll sleep on the bunk next to the gurney. Jamie, I can't leave him."

"Alright I'll let you stay. Looking at the admiral and Chip Jamie said, "As CMO I'm ordering you two to your cabins right now."

The admiral looked at Jamie and raised his eye brows, "You're ordering us out?"

"Yes now. Chip you're on duty in the morning. We need you to see that we get home and besides that you look like hell. Harry, you don't look much better. I will call you if there is problem."

"Yes sir," Chip replied. He really was beat. He had been running on adrenaline but that gave out a couple of hours ago.

He walked over to the gurney and gently squeezed his 'brother's' shoulder. "You've got to make it. I can't live without you."

The admiral went over also and gave his shoulder a pat. "Come on son, you have a lot to live for."

Before the admiral left he looked at Jamie, "You could use a little of your own advice. You better hit the rack as you look pretty ragged too."

"I'm going to my cabin as soon as I get Janet settled and check his vitals one more time."

((()))

The admiral and Chip both left Sick Bay and went to their cabins. As much as Chip wanted to be with Lee, he knew he needed to rest and Lee would want him in the Control Room making sure his "gray lady' had no problems getting home. Chip no sooner lay in his bunk then fell fast asleep.

The admiral went to his cabin and sat at his desk. He reached in the bottom drawer and pulled out a glass and a bottle of Glenlivet and poured himself a healthy shot of the amber liquid. He didn't want anything to happen to his 'son'. He had seen him through some rough times but never this rough, he was worried and scared. He finished up his drink and lay fully clothed down on his bunk when sleep finally came.

((()))

Before leaving for the night, Jamie checked on Lee's vitals one last time while John recorded them on his chart. "Jamie is he any better?" Janet whispered still holding his hand.

"No but he's not any worse. I think that's a good sign. Now into the bunk with you. I can tell by looking at you that you are beyond exhausted and I can't handle two Crane's in sick bay."

"Yes Jamie," Janet replied as she went to the bunk closest to the gurney. She climbed in and lay on her side so she could watch Lee's chest rise and fall as the machine breathed for him.

"John is going to be monitoring him, so if there's a problem, he will call me," he told her but she was already asleep before he even finished. He covered her with the blanket before giving John some last minute instructions.

He left Sick Bay and went to his cabin. He was exhausted and knew tomorrow was going to be another long day. He got ready for bed, climbed in his bunk and went right to sleep.

((()))

Jamie was in sick bay by 0500 hours and checked in with John who was sitting at Jamie's desk watching the monitors on Lee. "Did the captain have any problems?"

"His blood pressure dropped for a little while last night but not enough to set off the alarms, just as I was going to call you it came back up. I gave him another sedative and pain medication a few hours ago."

"Thanks, you can go. I'll stay with him until Frank comes on duty. You look a little done in," Jamie told John but before he could leave sick bay, Frank walked in ready to take over.

"Frank, you're reporting for duty early," Jamie said gratefully.

"Yes sir. I've already eaten breakfast which I'm sure you haven't done. I was worried and wanted to check on the skipper."

"Thanks Frank. I'll get some breakfast in a little while."

Janet heard Jamie talking with Frank and got up from the bunk and went over to Lee. "How is he, Jamie?" Janet asked as she took his hand and rubbed his thumb.

"He had a calm night according to John. I was just going to check on him."

He checked his blood pressure which was the same as yesterday. "He's still very critical but it's a good sign he made it through the night with no major problems."

((()))

Chip was also up at 0500 hours. He met the admiral on his way down to sick bay. "You're up early," the admiral said to Chip.

"You, too. I just want to check on Lee before I go to the control room."

Just as Jamie finished giving Lee his medications, Chip and the admiral came in to check on him.

"Jamie, how is he?" Chip asked worriedly.

"He's still the same as last night," Jamie replied quietly.

"Please let me know if there's any change. I'll be in the control room for a while until O'Brien comes on duty."

"Sure Chip."

Chip left sick bay for the control room while the admiral stayed with Lee. When he got to the control room, the crew on duty looked at him for some information.

"He's still alive but not out of the woods," he told them worriedly.

Before going to the plotting table he stopped by the sonar station where Kowalski was on duty, "Everything clear above us?"

"Yes sir. Clear all the way to the surface," he responded softly.

"Thanks, Ski," he said as he walked over to the plotting table and keyed the mic, "Maneuvering."

"Maneuvering, aye."

"Take us up to two hundred feet."

"Aye, sir."

He felt _Seaview _lift slowly off the bottom and keyed the mic again, "Engine room."

"Engine room, aye."

"Start the engines and bring us up to flank speed."

"Aye, sir."

"Helmsmen, resume course and heading for home," Chip told them.

"Aye, sir."

As he turned back to the plotting table, he saw O'Brien enter the control room from the aft hatch. "Mr. O'Brien reporting for duty, sir."

"You're reporting early, Mr. O'Brien. You weren't scheduled to be on duty until 0700. It's only 0600," Chip remarked after checking his watch.

"I know Mr. Morton but I knew you would want to be with the skipper so I'm reporting early."

"Thanks Bobby," Chip answered patting his shoulder.

The admiral was just coming in the aft hatch and heard the conversation between Chip and O'Brien. He was proud of his men as they would all go above and beyond the call of duty to help each other out. He entered the control room where Chip caught sight of him and the concerned look on his face.

"Sir, did something happen to Lee," Chip asked frantically that didn't go unnoticed by the men in the control room.

"Calm down, Chip. He's fine," he told him a little louder than normal as he noticed the men listening to every word they said. He could see the worry on their faces too. "I just came to see if you had breakfast and when you could get away. I see that Mr. O'Brien has reported early for duty so you're free to go."

"No, I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm not really hungry."

The admiral looked at him and raised his eyebrows, "You're not hungry? Hungry or not you're going to eat."

"Yes sir. Can we stop at sick bay before we go to check on Lee?"

"Of course," the admiral answered patting him on the back.

"Mr. O'Brien you have the conn," Chip told him as he left with the admiral out the aft hatch. O'Brien noted the change in the log book along with the time, speed and course.

((()))

Jamie needed to check Lee's incision and change the bandages and he knew Janet wouldn't be up to seeing that just yet. "Janet, I let you stay here last night but now you're going to go to your cabin, shower, change and go to the wardroom for breakfast. I don't want to see you here for two hours."

"Jamie, I…" she started to say but Jamie cut her off.

"No, that's an order. Go right now or I'll make it three hours."

As Jamie was telling Janet she needed to leave sick bay, the admiral and Chip walked in to check on him again.

"Admiral, Chip, have you eaten breakfast this morning?" Jamie asked with determination.

"No, why?"

"Janet, is thirty minutes enough time for you to get ready?"

"Yes sir. Good meet the admiral and Chip for breakfast and you better eat. I will check with Cookie to make sure you ate. If you don't I won't let you back in here."

"Jamie, please don't do that," Janet begged. "I'll eat...I promise." She walked over to Lee kissed his forehead and rubbed his hand. "Honey, I'll be back soon."

She walked out of Sick Bay and went to their cabin. His backpack was on the desk. She put it in the closet as she couldn't look it. She took a shower and cried the whole time she was in there. She went over to the desk and took out 'the letter' but didn't open it. _You have to live...Please don't make me follow these instructions, _she thought as she stared at it. When she was ready she walked to the wardroom and left the letter on his desk.

((()))

"Jamie what was that all about," the admiral asked surprised that he would threaten to not let Janet back in to see Lee.

"I need to change Lee's bandages and it's not going to be pretty. I'm not sure she's ready to see how badly he was actually hurt. So I need someone to keep her busy at least for breakfast. She needs to get away for a little while anyway. I need to check him out and don't want her around right now."

"You know she's going to have to see what damage has been done and change the bandages eventually," Chip remarked.

"I know but by that time the wounds won't be so raw."

"Harry, Chip, he _**is**_ still critical. He's got a long road to recovery ahead of him and they're both going to need our help," Jamie told them emphatically.

"We know Jamie. I'll go and make sure she eats breakfast," Chip sighed looking at his best friend lying on the gurney as the machines helped keep him alive.

"As soon as I'm done changing his bandages, I'll join you in the wardroom. I need coffee and breakfast myself as it's going to be another long day," Jamie told them as he moved the sheet covering Lee and started to remove the dressing.

Frank went to the supply cabinet and took out all the gauze, tape, and pads they would need to apply a new dressing to Lee's incision. Jamie checked out his incision and bullet wound and they did look a little redder than he expected. Just what he didn't need was an infection to set in. Frank and Jamie applied new dressings to his incision. Jamie checked his vitals, gave him another sedative, more pain medication and an antibiotic before he left for the wardroom.

((()))

The admiral and Chip went to the wardroom where Wayne had just gotten his breakfast. Janet walked in a few minutes later and Chip noticed she didn't look much better than before. He handed her a tray while Cookie put three pancakes, two strips of bacon and some fruit on her plate. He stared at her letting her know she better eat it all.

"I'll eat everything so you won't tell on me," she told him with a weak smile.

"Good. Here you go Mr. Morton," he said as he handed Chip a plate with four pancakes and three strips of bacon and fruit.

"That's a lot of food Cookie. I'm not that hungry this morning," Chip said softly.

"I understand Mr. Morton but eat what you can," Cookie replied knowing if Chip wasn't hungry he must be really worried about the skipper.

Janet got them all coffee and sat down along side Chip while the admiral sat down next to Wayne.

"How is Lee this morning?" Wayne asked anxiously seeing the worry etched on their faces.

"He's hanging in there," Chip answered as he picked at his pancakes.

Janet watched as Wayne tried to eat left handed, "How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine," he responded which got a wry grin from Chip. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No. It's just that Lee says that even if he's not fine," Chip answered.

As they were talking, Jamie came in and got a tray which Cookie filled with the breakfast items. He sat down next to Janet and looked at her plate. She'd eaten almost all of the food but left one pancake. He looked at Chip's plate and was surprised he had barely touched his breakfast.

"Chip, you need to eat too," Jamie stressed. "I already told Janet I can't handle two Crane's in sick bay and no way in hell can I handle you and Lee. I would be totally bald by the time we got back to Santa Barbara."

"Yes sir." Chip replied taking another bite of a pancake.

As they sat there eating, a call came over the radio, "Doc, we need in you sick bay right now."

Dropping what they were eating they all jumped to their feet and ran to sick bay. Jamie found Frank standing by the mic.

"Frank what happen...what's wrong...is the Captain alright?" Jamie asked out of breath from running.

"I'm sorry Doc but the skipper's fine. I got a call from the missile room, Simpson got hit in the head with chain and has a head injury that's bleeding pretty badly. I didn't want to leave the skipper alone so I called you."

After catching his breath Jamie answered, "Go to the missile room and bring Simpson back here. I'll stay with the skipper."

"Aye sir. Sorry if I upset all of you."

"No problem, Frank," Chip said patting him on the shoulder as he left for the missile room.

"Go back to your breakfast," Jamie said, "Chip, I'll let you know how bad Simpson is."

"Thanks Jamie."

((()))

After breakfast Wayne and Janet went to the observation nose. Janet still had an hour before she could return to sick bay. They sat in the observation nose staring out the windows as _Seaview_ plowed through the water.

Wayne turned to look at Janet, "I'm very sorry that Lee got shot. It should have been me," he apologized.

"Wayne, I know it wasn't your fault and I don't blame you. It's my husband's sense of duty that put him in that situation. If he can save one life or thousands it wouldn't change what he did," Janet said sincerely.

Looking back out the windows Wayne said, "He's a very brave man."

"Yes he is," she replied tears welling up in her eyes. _Being brave may cost him his life,_ she thought.

Chief Sharkey came up to them in the observation nose. "Excuse me, Mr. Kimball, Mrs. C. but the admiral told me I'm to take Mr. Kimball back to San Diego in the flying sub. We'll be leaving in an hour, sir."

"Okay Chief, I'll meet you here in an hour." He stood up moved in front of Janet's chair and squatted down taking her hand in his. "I know he will be alright. He's got more love here than I've ever seen anywhere. Please let me know how he is."

"Yes I will make sure we let you know," she replied as she continued to stare out the windows of Lee's 'gray lady'.

Wayne returned to his cabin to pack his things. He had everything ready in 20 minutes. He took the gun and ammunition Lee gave him and left it on the desk. He would tell Sharkey it was there.

Janet looked at her watch and she still had fifteen more minutes before she could go back to Lee. She sat there looking out the windows as tears ran down her cheeks. Chip stood at the plotting table watching the interaction between Wayne and Janet. He could tell Wayne was sorry what happened to Lee. He also knew Janet was crying even though she tried to hide it. _Hell, I'm having a hard time dealing with this. Heavens knows how's she dealing with it, _Chip thought as he returned to his work at the plotting table.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Finally the fifteen minutes were up and they were the longest fifteen minutes ever. Wiping away her tears, Janet made her way into the control room stopping by the plotting table where Chip and Bobby were working.

"Chip, can you get away for a few minutes?"

"Sure, I'll be there shortly. I just need to finish up a few things here," he replied patting her hand.

Janet continued on to sick bay where Jamie was putting four stitches in Simpson's forehead. He would send him back to the crew's quarters for the rest of the day and Frank or John would check on him later. He looked at her as she went to the back of sick bay and could see she was very worried but so was he. Jamie had pulled the curtain that separated the rooms so that Lee had privacy.

Before she sat down, she kissed his forehead. He was still very pale, but not as gray looking as last night. She picked up the sheet and saw Jamie had changed his bandages. She also noticed the IV line giving him blood was gone. She pulled up the chair and sat down next to the gurney, she put her hand under his and rubbed his thumb while placing her other hand on his leg and gave it a squeeze.

"Come on Lee, you need to fight harder," she said quietly.

Chip came into sick bay and sat down on the other side of Lee. "Lee, we need you, I need you," Chip told him as he patted his hand.

Janet gave him a weak smile. They had been sitting there for a while when they felt _Seaview_ shake slightly. Chip knew the flying sub was leaving her berth taking Wayne back to San Diego. The admiral came into sick bay and saw them sitting there. Jamie joined them as they maintained their vigil over Lee.

"How long are you going to keep him sedated," the admiral asked.

"Until we get to Santa Barbara, I'll wean him off the ventilator once he's settled in Med Bay. We're going to have to be very careful taking him off the boat. We don't want to open his incision and when he does wake up he's going to be in a lot of pain."

((()))

The next two and half days went by very slowly. On the second day, Chip found Sharkey milling around the sick bay passageway.

"Chief what are you doing here?" Chip questioned.

"Sir, it's the men, they want to know how the skipper is doing? They keep asking me, if I could give them just a little bit of information..." he asked quietly.

"Chief, I'll make sure you get information every day at 0800 and 1800 hours," Chip replied knowing every man on the boat would want to know how Lee is doing. Sighing he said, "He's still critical and not out of the woods but doing better than before."

"Thank you Mr. Morton. I know the crew will appreciate the information." Chip patted him on the shoulder as he walked down the passageway to the crew's quarters.

Chip went in sick bay to check on Lee. He was still very pale but his blood pressure was normal. Jamie was anxious to get him in Med Bay so he could get him off the ventilator. The longer he stayed on it, the greater chance he would get pneumonia. He also wanted to reduce his pain medication. He was giving him a strong pain medication that if he stayed on too much longer he could become addicted to it.

((()))

Janet only left Lee's side when Jamie made her go to their cabin to shower or eat. She slept in the bunk next to his gurney every night. Jamie decided not to move him to a bunk as it would be too hard to get him in and out of there without disturbing the sutures in his abdomen. Chip spent as much time as he could but he still needed to make sure _Seaview_ was on course and schedule. Both Bobby O'Brien and Scott Taper had stepped up and pulling longer shifts so Chip could spend more time with Lee. If Chip couldn't be there with Lee and Janet, then the admiral was there urging his 'son' to come back to him.

Before they reached Santa Barbara the admiral went to Sick Bay and found Jamie sitting there with Janet. The admiral motioned to Jamie to join him in his office.

"I'll be right back," Jamie told her as he rubbed her shoulder.

"Jamie, what arrangements have you made to transport Lee to Med Bay?"

"Mike and Jeff, the two new corpsmen, will be at the dock with the ambulance and a Stokes litter. Once we get him off the boat, they will take him to Med Bay where Betty and Hazel will be awaiting our arrival."

"Okay, Jamie," the admiral replied as he stood there a little longer staring at Lee. He was afraid he was going to lose his 'son' and regretted he never told him how much he meant to him. He sighed as he left sick bay. He went to the control room and checked to see how long before they would be docking.

((()))

After finding out they were still a few hours away from docking at the institute the admiral went to his office to check in with Angie. "Hi Angie," the admiral said tiredly.

"Good afternoon, admiral. How's Lee?" she asked quickly her voice quivering.

"Still critical but doing a little better. We should be docking about 1400 hours.

"Please let us know if you need anything. Admiral, how's Janet doing?"

"She's very worried but hanging in there."

Trying not to break down Angie said, "Please give her a hug from Wanda and me."

Smiling at how close the three of them had gotten he replied, "Of course."

"Admiral, how are _you_ and Chip managing? It must be hard for you and Chip to see Lee like that."

Sighing the admiral replied, "Thanks for your concern, we're managing. We'll see you soon."

"Please let us know when we can see Lee," Angie implored.

"I'll make sure you know," he replied.

((()))

As soon as the admiral finished talking to Angie, he returned to Sick Bay. Jamie went over to him as soon as he came in, "How soon before we dock, Harry?"

The admiral looked at his watch. "Another two hours. Why...problem?"

"No," Jamie replied as he rubbed his forehead, "just want to get him off the boat."

"I'll check with Chip and see if we can't speed her up a bit."

Chip saw the admiral enter the control room looking very worried, "Chip is there any way we can get a little more out of the engines?"

"Sir, I can try. What's wrong...is it Lee?"

"Jamie is anxious to get him off the boat and in Med Bay where he can monitor him better."

Chip picked up the mic and double clicked it, "Engine room this is the exec."

"Engine room aye."

"Anyway we can get a little more speed?" Chip asked desperately.

"We'll try Mr. Morton."

"Thanks Chip." The admiral walked back out the aft hatch and returned to sick bay and stood there watching Janet talk to Lee.

"Lee Crane you better not die on me," Janet whispered sternly. "I've invested too much of my life with you and sitting here for you to leave me now."

"Does it help to get mad at him?" the admiral asked making her jump in her seat as she didn't see him come in.

"I don't know sir but right now I'm just too worried and tired at this point that I'll try anything. He's got to live, I don't know what I'd do without him," she sighed deeply her eyes filling with tears.

"We're almost home," he told as he gave her a hug, "That's from Angie and Wanda."

"Thank you admiral," she managed a small smile as she hugged him back. "That hug was from me to you."

The admiral went over to Lee and squeezed his shoulder, "Please don't leave me, son." He walked out of Sick Bay and went back to the control room wiping a tear out of his eye.

((()))

Somehow _Seaview _knew her captain was in trouble and needed her help so the engine room managed to get a little more speed and sailed past the breakwater thirty minutes earlier than scheduled. Chip went up to the bridge where Scott was waiting for him. Chip brought her into the channel and berthed her in her sub pen with ease. The dock detail tied her down and set out the gangway.

The admiral and O'Brien were in the control room waiting for Chip to let them know everything was clear topside before dismissing the crew. Chip saw the ambulance with Mike and Jeff from Med Bay on the dock looking for the okay signal to come aboard. Chip picked up the mic in the bridge called down to the control room, "Admiral, the corpsmen are here, they're ready to bring Lee ashore as soon as Jamie's ready,'

"Chip, let me check with Jamie and see if he wants to bring Lee up first or wait until the crew is gone."

"Aye sir," Chip answered. "Adam, please tell the corpsmen to wait for a minute," Chip told the dock hand.

"Aye, sir," Adam replied promptly.

The admiral called to sick bay, "Jamie, the corpsmen are here. Do you want to take Lee of now or wait until the crew has disembarked?"

"Admiral, have them come on down and we'll wait till the crew has left before we bring him up. It's going to take awhile to get him loaded along with the gear."

"Okay Jamie." The admiral radioed the bridge and told Chip to have Mike and Jeff come aboard and head on down to sick bay with the Stokes litter.

Janet had packed their gear, Lee's briefcase and backpack and had them ready to go. Riley had volunteered to bring it topside for her and to their car. She had the car keys sitting on the desk when he took the gear out of their cabin.

Janet paced in sick bay waiting for the corpsmen, "Jamie, will moving him hurt him any more?" she asked anxiously.

"No that's why we're using a litter. It has sides and more room so it's easier and safer to tie him down," he explained. "Don't worry we'll get him out safely. Please relax," Jamie pleaded with her.

"Not until he is safe and secure in Med Bay."

He couldn't blame her for being nervous as he was pretty nervous himself and worried about transporting him. He and Frank gently put some scrubs on him, put an extra blanket on his abdomen for extra padding and then wrapped him in a blanket.

((()))

The corpsmen made their way to sick bay and helped Frank and John ready Lee for transport. The four men gently lifted him off the gurney and placed him on the litter along with the IV bag. They expertly tied him down and attached the temporary ventilator. They picked him up and carried him to the missile room where they used the crane to gently lift him off the boat and deposit him safely on the deck without him moving an inch on the litter. The admiral went up the ladder and waited at the top for Janet to come up. Chip followed her up and would be the last one off the boat.

As they left the deck with Lee, every inch of the quarterdeck, gangway and dock had crewmen standing at attention waiting for Lee to leave the boat. As Janet came out of the hatch with the admiral and Chip, she saw them all standing there at attention and saluting him as they carried him by them to the ambulance.

"Oh admiral," she cried as she gripped his hand, "I never realized how much they really do care about him."

"Yes, they do," he answered proud of every man on his submarine.

The admiral, Chip and Janet walked to the end of the gangway as they put Lee in the ambulance for the short ride to Med Bay. Jamie, Frank and Mike would ride in the back while John sat in front with Jeff who drove them to Med Bay.

Before Jamie got in the ambulance he said, "Please wait a few minutes before you come. I need to get him settled, checked out and reattach the monitors and ventilator."

"Yes Jamie," Janet replied with tears of relief in her eyes that they got him off the boat without hurting him.

Jamie climbed in the back and Kowalski shut the doors then hitting the back of the ambulance door letting them know it was okay for them to leave.

Janet stood on the dock with the admiral as the crew of _Seaview_ walked by them leaving on shore leave. They all offered Janet words of encouragement. Chief Sharkey, Patterson, Riley and Kowalski gave her a hug.

"He'll be up before you know," Chief said encouragingly.

"Thanks. I know he will too." Janet replied looking at Sharkey, thankful for his optimism.

"Mrs. C., I've put your things in the car," Riley told her handing her back her car keys.

"Thanks, Riley. I will make sure you all know how he is doing and when you can come and visit him."

They walked away hoping it would be soon. Chip was on the dock talking with Bobby and Scott. "Thank you. You both did a great job. I know the captain will appreciate all your extra effort. I know I did."

"You're welcome, Mr. Morton. Please let us know how the skipper is doing."

They left the dock as Chip went over to talk to the dock detail and told them what needed to be done on _Seaview_. When he was done with them he went to the security detail and went over the schedule with them. The admiral and Janet waited for him before walking to Janet's SUV.

Handing Chip the keys to the SUV Janet asked, "Have we left Jamie alone long enough?"

"Long enough for me," Chip responded as he opened the unlocked door of SUV for Janet and she climbed in.

"We'll meet you over there, Admiral"

"I'll be there soon. I just want to check in with Angie before I go to Med Bay. Jamie will have a fit if we're all over there. You know Angie and Wanda will want to check on him too."

"Yes sir," Chip replied as he started the car, backed it out of the parking space and headed for Med Bay a little faster than he should have.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Betty and Hazel had everything ready that Jamie would need for Lee when he arrived at Med Bay. They helped Jamie, Frank and John settle Lee in bed and were surprised at how bad he actually was. They had seen him injured before but never like this. Betty took him off the temporary ventilator, attached him to the permanent one, hung the IV bag to the stand, checked his catheter, put the blood pressure cuff on him and hooked him up to the heart monitor. Hazel took his blood pressure and temperature and noted it on his chart.

"Please make sure you monitor all his vitals. I want to be notified immediately if there are any changes," Jamie told them.

"Yes, sir," they answered.

Betty and Hazel had brought in a couple of comfortable chairs in Lee's room. Noticing the chairs, "Thank you for putting the chairs in here," Jamie said gratefully.

"We figured Mrs. Crane would be staying with him along with Mr. Morton and the admiral."

Sighing Jamie told them, "She hasn't left his side so far and I don't expect her leave now."

They no sooner had Lee settled when Janet and Chip knocked on the door. Jamie opened the door and let them in, "I asked you to give me a little time," he chastised them.

"We did. You've had fifteen minutes. Jamie how is he...any problems moving him," Chip asked running his hand through his hair.

"He made the transfer just fine," Jamie replied taking a deep breath.

While Chip and Jamie were talking, Janet went to his side and sat down. She took his hand in hers and rubbed his thumb as Chip sat down on the other side. The admiral came in with Angie and Wanda about ten minutes later. Janet got up and gave them a hug. Both of them could tell she was very tired and worried.

"Oh my," Angie said with tears in her eyes as she looked at Lee and then Janet. "He's so pale."

"Will he get better?" Wanda asked quietly looking at the ventilator as it breathed for him.

"Yes, I think so," Jamie replied rubbing his forehead. "I'm going to take him off the ventilator in the morning so I will know more tomorrow. Why don't you all go home and get some rest," Jamie said hopefully looking at Janet and Chip as well as the rest of them.

"Jamie, I'm not leaving," Janet told him calmly as she sat back down in her chair tucking her legs under her.

"Me either," Chip replied firmly parking his six in the other chair.

The admiral, Angie and Wanda agreed to leave but would be back tomorrow. Angie and Wanda were going home and the admiral would return to his office after he walked Angie and Wanda to their cars. Taking his keys out of his pocket, he opened his car door and got in but just sat there for awhile thinking about how much he loved Lee like a son, and he hoped he would be alright. He started his car and decided to go home instead of the office.

Jamie left Janet and Chip to sit with Lee while he went to the desk to check in with Betty and Hazel needing to know if anything of importance had taken place at Med Bay while he was gone.

"Chip, what if Lee doesn't breathe on his own when Jamie turns off the ventilator?" Janet asked as she rubbed his hand. "You know as well as I do, he doesn't want to live on the ventilator."

Sighing Chip replied, "I know. We're going to have to hope you don't have to make that decision."

"Please not me…I couldn't do it alone...I need you and the admiral," Janet said tears glistening in her eyes.

"Let's worry about that tomorrow," Chip told her softly not wanting to think about that decision.

The two of them sat there watching him and his monitors. Betty came in to check his vitals every fifteen minutes and wrote down what they were on his chart. When she came in after the first hour, both Janet and Chip were asleep in the chairs. Janet still had Lee's hand in hers and Chip had his hand on Lee's arm. She went to the cabinet, got out two blankets and covered them as they slept. She left the room as quietly as she came in.

Betty headed down the hallway to Jamie's office, "Jamie, here are the Captain's vitals for this hour," Betty said giving him the results.

"I see they're staying the same. That's good. What about Mrs. Crane and Mr. Morton?"

"Sound asleep so I covered them with a blanket. They looked pretty tired when they came in just like someone else. Jamie, you need to go home and rest too," Betty chided him.

"Thanks for taking care of them. I'm leaving now. If anything changes..."

"I will call you," she told him as she picked up his briefcase and showed him to the door.

((()))

Janet and Chip woke up early the next morning and noticed they had been covered. Smiling they whispered, "Betty."

They needed to stretch after sitting in the chairs all night. Just as they got up Betty came in to check on Lee.

"Thanks for covering us," Janet told her giving her hug, "You take such good care of all of us."

"No problem," she said hugging her back, "Jamie isn't here yet so why don't you get something to eat. You have to be hungry since you didn't have dinner. I'll make sure Jamie doesn't do anything until you return," she promised them.

Janet was about to protest when Chip took her arm telling Betty, "We'll be back in thirty minutes."

Janet gave Lee a kiss on his forehead before leaving. As they walked out the door, Betty was taking his vitals for Jamie. She wanted to make sure everything was ready when he turned off the ventilator and for Hazel who would take over when she went home.

Janet and Chip went to the cafeteria where Cookie was just setting up the breakfast buffet. As Chip headed for the coffee urn, Cookie asked, "How's the skipper today, Mrs. C?"

"Doc is going to try and take him off the ventilator this morning," she replied worriedly.

"Please let me know how he makes out. We're all worried about him. The crew asks when they come in how he is doing."

Janet replied softly, "I will make sure you find out so you can pass it on to the crew. Thanks Cookie."

Chip walked over to Cookie and Janet as they were talking. He took a big gulp of coffee and sighed in satisfaction it tasted so good. They went over to the buffet, Chip reached for a tray and handed it to Janet as he grabbed one for himself. Cookie took the liberty of putting three pieces of French toast and two links of turkey sausage on Janet's plate along with some strawberries. Chip helped himself to doubles of everything. He hadn't eaten dinner last night because he didn't want to leave Lee so he was very hungry.

"Cookie, there's too much food here," Janet sighed heavily, "I can't eat all of this."

"You better eat it or I will tell Dr. Jamieson on you. The same rules apply here as they do on _Seaview_ and I know you didn't have dinner last night."

"You have spies all over don't you," she smiled weakly.

"Yes I do," he smiled back.

Janet took her plate and put it on a table. She went to get some coffee and refill Chip's cup. She really wasn't hungry, she was too worried about Lee coming off the ventilator. She sat down and ate what she could but there was still a piece of French toast and sausage link left on her plate. While Cookie wasn't looking, Chip took the piece of French toast and sausage link, ate it and winked at her.

Whispering she said, "Thank you."

Cookie came by to check on her and was pleased she had eaten everything. Chip got a cup of coffee to go and they walked back to Med Bay. They had just gotten to Lee's door when Jamie came out of his office. The admiral was also walking in the front door and met them by the door to his room. The four of them went in Lee's room hoping this would be the last time they would hear the hiss of the ventilator breathing for him.

((()))

Jamie explained to them what he was going to do, "I looked over his vitals and everything is in the normal range so I'm going to turn off the ventilator. If he spontaneously starts breathing on his own, I will keep it turned off. I want to make sure he is able to breathe on his own for awhile before I remove the tube. If he doesn't start breathing on his own, I will need to turn the ventilator back on. We can try again later. If that doesn't work, I will slowly decrease the intervals the ventilator breathes for him, hoping he will start doing it on his own. I also had Betty decrease his sedative and pain medication the last time he was due which was about four hours ago. I'm not going to give him his next scheduled medications but I'm still giving him antibiotics so he doesn't get an infection. I want him to wake up."

With a worried look Janet asked, "Jamie isn't he going to be in a lot of pain?"

"Yes, he probably will be but I want to know how much pain. I need to change his pain medication to something less potent. I promise he won't be in pain for long."

Jamie walked over to the ventilator and turned it off. Janet stood there with her fingers crossed behind her back praying for him to breathe, the admiral and Chip stood there waiting for him to breathe too.

What seemed like minutes but was actually only a few seconds, Jamie looked at them and shook his head and went to turn on the ventilator back on. Before he could turn it on Lee gasped and started breathing on his own.

"All right you can start breathing again too," Jamie told them not realizing they were also holding their breath.

"Jamie does this mean he won't need the ventilator anymore?" Janet asked hesitantly.

Jamie was listening to Lee's chest with the stethoscope and could hear good breath sounds from his lungs.

"Yes I'm going to remove the tube before he wakes up. His throat is going to be sore, scratchy and he may have a hard time talking at first but it will get better."

The three of them relaxed just a little as they knew he still had to wake up. Jamie gently removed the tube from Lee's throat. He still had the heart monitor on but Jamie was going to remove that once he woke up. He was still going to keep the IV line for his pain medication and antibiotics.

"Jamie, he's going to be alright isn't he," Janet asked as she sat down next to his bed, gently picked up his hand and rubbed the top of it.

Sighing Jamie answered, "He's going to be okay. But he still has a long road of recovery ahead of him. His incision needs to heal and he will be very weak for awhile so he will need to rest. I'm afraid he won't be able to go back to work for quite a few weeks."

"Good luck telling him that," Chip said to Jamie. Chip knew Lee would want to help with all the updates _Seaview_ would need to test out the Navy's new equipment.

"He may not like it but he's not going to override me this time," Jamie insisted, "and I'm going to need the three of you to back me up."

"Yes, Jamie," the three of them nodded. They knew how close he had come to dying so they would do what Jamie asked of them.

The admiral stood at the window looking out at _Seaview_ bobbing in her pen. He prayed her captain would wake up and take command of her again.

((()))

_He could hear them talking. He could feel his wife's hand rubbing the top of his. He was in pain. He didn't know why but he hurt all over. He wanted to make the pain go away so he fell into a deep sleep._

((()))

It had been three hours since Jamie turned the ventilator off and Lee still had not woken up or even moved a muscle. Jamie came in to check on him worried that he wasn't awake yet. He went back to his office shaking his head there wasn't much else he could do, Lee had to wake up on his own.

"Lee Crane, you better wake up soon, you're getting a little scraggly looking," Janet said as he rubbed his cheek with its four day old beard. "Please wake up," she whispered giving his hand a gentle squeeze while tears formed in her eyes.

After a few minutes Janet said softly, "I'm going out for some fresh air. I need to figure out what to do if he never wakes up."

After leaving his side only when she was forced to, the admiral and Chip were surprised she would leave now but understood she needed to think.

"We'll find you if he wakes up while you're gone," Chip said gently.

"Thanks," Janet replied with a sigh.

((()))

_He felt her squeeze his hand. He felt her warm hand as she stroked his cheek. He could tell she was upset as her voice was barely above a whisper. He heard her say she was leaving. He needed to tell her he loved her. He wouldn't leave her alone no matter how much pain he was in his wife needed him._

Just as she started to get up she felt him squeeze her hand. "He squeezed my hand," she told them excitedly. "You better get Jamie."

Chip jumped out the chair almost knocking it over as he got up. "Sorry," he said sheepishly as he ran out of the room and down the hall to the desk. Since Betty was going off duty, she was reviewing with Hazel the instructions from Jamie when they saw Chip running towards them.

"Mr. Morton is there a problem?" Betty asked quickly.

"No, where's Jamie. Lee's waking up."

"I'll get him for you," Hazel told him as she quickly went to Jamie's office.

Jamie ran out of his office and down the hall with Chip following him.

He quickly pushed open the door and went to the bed. He began checking him over when he noticed his eyes starting to open but closed again trying to adjust to the light. He finally opened them up and left them open. He saw Jamie standing on one side of him while Janet stood on the other.

"Don't go," he said barely above a whisper as he reached for Janet's hand giving it another squeeze.

"Honey, I'm not going anywhere," she said softly as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Sweetie, please don't cry," he said hoarsely. "I'm fine," he stated as he tried to sit up and quickly laid back down. "That hurt," he gasped in pain. 

"Welcome back, Captain," Jamie said calmly. "How do you feel?"

"Chest hurts…stomach hurts…throat is sore and scratchy. Must have been on a ventilator," he replied weakly. He also noticed the IV line, heart monitor and knew he had a catheter.

Janet went to the sink, filled a cup with water, found a straw and helped Lee take a small sip. Their eyes locked as he nodded thanks. He saw that she looked stressed and worn out.

"You're in Med Bay and you were on a ventilator among other things," Jamie told him looking at him trying to judge how much pain he was in. Lee Crane could tolerate a lot but Jamie could tell he was hurting badly.

"_Seaview_...mission...Wayne," he asked having a hard time talking. Janet helped him take another sip of water.

"We'll fill you in later," Chip told him as he stood next to Jamie happy to see his 'brother' awake but could also tell he was in pain. The admiral stood next to Janet on the other side of the bed.

"Son, you sure gave us quite a scare," the admiral sighed with relief gently squeezing his shoulder.

Clutching his hand tightly Janet told him, "Yes, honey, you are 'fine' after what you've been through but please don't try and sit up again."

"How long have I been out?" he asked barely above a whisper.

"Four and half days," Chip answered. "You were shot after you and Wayne imploded the laboratory."

"I don't remember anything after that," Lee responded grimacing in pain.

"Enough for now," Jamie ordered. "I'm going to give you some pain medication. You still need to rest."

"But Jamie I want to know what happened," he insisted.

Jamie called to the desk and had Hazel bring in pain medication and injected into his IV. It wasn't as strong as the previous medicine but would still alleviate his pain. He closed his eyes as he felt relief from the medication as it worked it's way through his body and went back to sleep.

"How long will he be out," Janet inquired as she held Lee's hand.

"A 'normal' person would be out for four to five hours but him probably three so all of you will go home and get some rest. I'm going to change his dressing while he's asleep."

"Jamie, please let me help you," Janet asked softly. "I'm going to have to take care of it when he does get home."

Rubbing his hand on his forehead Jamie reluctantly agreed to let her help. Jamie picked up the phone, "Hazel could you please bring me some gauze pads, antibiotic ointment, and tape so I can change the Captain's dressing."

"Yes sir. I will be right there."

"We'll be back later," Chip told Janet. "If you need anything just call." He gave her hand a squeeze. The admiral whispered, "He's going to be alright." She nodded her head relieved that he was going to make it.

They walked out of Med Bay and Chip stood there. He didn't have a ride home. He could walk but he was way too tired. He couldn't take Janet's car as that would leave her stranded there and she needed to go home for awhile too. He started to walk back into Med Bay to wait for Janet so she could take him home.

The admiral seeing his predicament said, "Get in lad, I'll take you home,"

"Thank you sir," Chip accepted gratefully and got in the admiral's car. He drove him the short distance to his house.

As Chip was leaving the car the admiral told him, "Chip, please come to my office tomorrow at 0930. Admiral Starke is coming late tomorrow morning with some of the plans and information regarding the new computers and upgrades. I would like to review what you and Lee planned on doing before we start anything."

"That will work out fine." Chip said as he shut the car door, went in his front door and sat down on the couch. He was emotionally and physically exhausted. He went upstairs, took a long hot shower and lay on his bed where he promptly fell asleep. He would go back to Med Bay after he rested.

((()))

Hazel brought in the items Jamie requested. She was surprised that Janet was still there.

Jamie seeing he look on Hazel's face told her, "She's going to watch us change his dressing. She's going to have to take care of it when he gets home so she might as well learn now."

They both washed their hands before they touched the old dressing. Hazel gently removed the tape holding the gauze pads down. Hazel soaked a piece of gauze in saline solution and gave it to Jamie to help remove the gauze that had stuck to the incision. She took the old dressing and put it in a plastic bag. They both washed their hands again.

"Oh Jamie," Janet said nervously. "It's so red and swollen."

"That's part of the healing process and it will get better in a couple of days. There is no sign of infection which is good. But I'm still going to keep him on an antibiotic for the next few days."

"What about the sutures...when will you take them out...what happens after you take them out?" Janet asked calmly.

"He has two kinds of sutures. The sutures on the inside are absorbable. The ones on the outside will be taken out in few days depending on how he is healing. Janet, abdominal surgery is very painful. He's going to be uncomfortable doing almost everything. It may take four to six weeks before he really feels better."

"Jamie you know he's not going to like that time frame."

"He will be the judge of what he can or can't do depending on how much pain he's in. We have to make sure he doesn't over do it because that will increase his healing time. You're going to have to really watch him."

"Yes Jamie. I will," she replied as she rubbed his hand watching Jamie reapply his new dressing.

Jamie put on some antibiotic ointment, applied new gauze pads and taped them down. They washed their hands again and Hazel removed the plastic bag with the old bandages. "When Lee goes home, I'm going to have Frank or John check on him daily. They will help you change his dressing."

"Thank you Jamie. You're a miracle worker," Janet told him kissing him on the cheek.

"No problem but you're going to end up in the bed next to him if you don't go home and get some rest," he said with a wry grin walking her to the door.

"Okay Jamie but I think you should follow your own advice. You look pretty beat yourself."

"As soon as I disconnect the heart monitor, remove the catheter and check his vitals I'm leaving I promise."

As Janet left Med Bay, Jamie finished what he was doing and went to his office, sat at his desk. He was very relieved that everything had worked out and Lee would be alright. He took his briefcase, locked his office, gave some final instructions to Hazel and left for a few hours.

As Jamie was leaving, Angie and Wanda walked in the front door. "Jamie, how is Lee?" Angie asked with a worried look on her face.

"He finally woke up but is sleeping again. You can sit there with him. Janet, Chip and the admiral went home for a few hours. If he should wake up he will see some familiar faces," Jamie told them. "If he has any problems, please call Hazel who is at the desk."

"Thanks Jamie," Wanda said as they went in Lee's room.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Janet walked out of Med Bay and went to her car and wondered how Chip got home. She had forgotten that they only had her car. She opened the door, climbed in, put the key in the ignition and sat there as tears ran down her cheeks relieved she wouldn't have to follow the instructions in 'the letter'. She put the car in drive, went home and left the car in the driveway. She went inside but hated coming home alone to an empty house. She went upstairs, turned on the shower, took off her clothes and stood under the warm water. She also hated taking a shower alone. When she was finished, she dressed and laid down on the bed. Before long she was sound asleep.

She woke three hours later in a panic. What if Lee woke up and there was no one there. She quickly finished getting ready and hopped in her car. When she got to Med Bay, she ran down the hall to Lee's room where Chip, Angie and Wanda were sitting with Lee.

"Sorry I fell asleep. Has he woken up again?" Janet asked anxiously.

"No, not yet. Wanda and I have been here keeping him company. You look like you could use another three hours of sleep," Angie said to Janet.

"No I'm better," she replied as she kissed his forehead and squeezed his hand.

"Since you're back, Angie and I will leave you alone," Wanda told Janet giving her a hug. "We'll check in with you tomorrow."

Angie gave her a hug too and they both said goodbye to Chip. As they walked out the door, Jamie and Hazel came back in to check on Lee. Jamie checked his blood pressure, took the stethoscope that was around his neck and listened to his lungs and heart.

"Everything is fine. He should be waking up soon," Jamie told them as he left the room and went back to his office.

((()))

Janet and Chip had been sitting there only a few minutes when Lee's eye started to flutter. He opened them up and stared at his wife and then looked over at Chip.

"Hi sweetie," he whispered. "You don't look nearly as worried or tired as before."

"No, we went home and slept while you were sleeping. How are you feeling?" Janet asked cautiously.

"Still hurts. Please tell me what happened," he asked impatiently.

Sighing Chip explained to Lee that he was shot by one of the guards who escaped the laboratory after he pushed Wayne out of the way and they carried Lee to the beach where Chip, Kowalski and Patterson brought him aboard _Seaview._

"How badly was I injured?" he asked grimacing in pain.

Taking a deep breath and holding his hand Janet told him, "Lee, Jamie didn't think you were going to live. He operated on you for six hours. He gave you the four units of blood he had on hand. _Seaview_ sat on the bottom of the ocean so Scott could donate a unit of blood. He wanted to know if you had any instructions if you didn't make it."

Lee looked at Janet sadly, "Did you tell him about 'the letter'?"

"Yes, the admiral and Chip did," she answered quietly. "We were so afraid you wouldn't make it." Janet continued, "You were shot three times. One bullet went in your chest collapsing your left lung but it didn't hit either lung. That is why you were on the ventilator. The other two were in your abdomen. One lacerated your liver and nicked your kidney. Jamie was able to repair them."

"Okay, but you said there were three bullets, what about the third one?"

Janet continued, "It ruptured your spleen. Jamie said it was too damaged to repair and had to take it out but you can live without it. It's just that you have to be very careful getting an infection. If you do, you will need to get on antibiotics right away."

Lee laid there not saying anything. _No wonder I'm in pain,"_ he thought. "Is that all," he said with a wry smile.

"Isn't that enough," the admiral said as he stood in the doorway and heard Janet telling him his injuries.

"No wonder the three of you looked like hell. I'm sorry to put you through this," Lee apologized. "I saw the guard aiming at Wayne and I just reacted by pushing him away. Is he okay?"

"Yes, he had a shoulder wound but Jamie took care of it. Sharkey brought him back to San Diego on FS-1 so we wouldn't have to stop there," the admiral told him.

Jamie came in the room just as the admiral finished telling Lee about Wayne. "How are you feeling, Lee," Jamie asked looking at him carefully.

"My whole chest and stomach hurts whenever I move," Lee grimaced.

"It's going to for awhile. You're going to be sore for about four to six weeks if you don't overdo it. Once the swelling and redness goes away from your incision you won't be in much pain. I know you've had sutures before but never this many and covering your whole chest. You're going to be uncomfortable doing almost everything as abdominal surgery is very painful."

"When can I go back to work? If _Seaview's_ in port, that means we can do the upgrades to sonar, radar and the radio so we can test the Navy's new equipment."

"Not for at least four weeks," Jamie told him waiting for the fireworks and Lee didn't disappoint him.

"No, I can't be away that long. I need to help them," Lee insisted getting angry at Jamie.

"Lee, I will relieve you of your command if you don't follow Jamie's orders," the admiral threatened.

"Admiral, please don't," Lee pleaded.

"Son, we almost lost you, please do as Jamie asks," the admiral told him wearily.

"Yes sir," Lee acquiesced.

He saw the look of relief not only on Jamie's face but Janet's and Chip's as well as the admiral's. He realized he was exhausted and he didn't even do anything. He wanted to go back to sleep and his chest area was hurting. Jamie noticed he was getting tired.

"All of you are not going to stay here tonight. You will go home and come back in the morning."

Janet opened her mouth to protest but before she could say anything Lee told her, "Sweetie, please go home and get some rest. You look tired. I'll be fine here with Hazel. I'm going to sleep very well I'm sure with Jamie's help."

I've got your medication right here," Jamie replied injecting it into Lee's IV.

Before Lee fell asleep he gave Janet a kiss goodbye. She kissed him back and rubbed his cheek. The three of them left Med Bay and walked to their cars.

"I'll be here early tomorrow morning," Chip told Janet. "The admiral and I have a meeting with Admiral Starke to go over the plans for the upgrade."

"Okay, I'll see you later. Admiral, thank you for your help with Lee. He can be so stubborn."

Sighing the admiral replied, "Don't I know it. We'll keep him abreast of what is taking place. He needs to know what is going on but doesn't need to be there. If you need anything, please call me."

"I'll be fine," Janet replied as they walked her to her car. Chip unlocked the door for her and would make sure she got home safely.

Chip followed Janet home and made sure she got in to house. Even though she had slept earlier, she was exhausted. She went upstairs and got ready for bed. She pulled the blankets back on the bed, climbed in and snuggled under them. She didn't like sleeping alone but she knew her husband was getting better and would be home soon.

((()))

Janet was up at 0600 the next morning. She took a shower, got dressed and went downstairs to make some coffee and breakfast. She didn't have dinner last night but she still wasn't that hungry. She made a piece of toast, drank the coffee and left for Med Bay. Jamie would be mad because it was too early for her to be there but she wanted to see Lee alone. She wanted to put her arms around him, gently hug him without anyone watching her kiss him. She knew it would be awhile before they could be intimate but she just wanted him to herself for a few minutes even if he was asleep.

When she got to Med Bay, no one was there but the staff on duty. Betty and Hazel were both on vacation for the week so Frank or John would be there to take care of Lee. Luckily the door to Med Bay was unlocked so she went in and didn't see anyone at the desk.

_I wonder where they are?_ She thought as she continued down to Lee's room. She opened the door slightly and saw there was no one with him. She quietly went in, walked over to his bed and checked to see if he was awake.

"Sweetheart, you're here pretty early," Lee said opening his beautiful amber eyes.

"How did you know it was me," she asked as she kissed him on the lips.

"Your smell," he replied kissing her back wishing he could do more but it hurt too much to move.

"My smell? I just showered," she said indignantly.

"Yes, I recognized the smell of your shower gel the minute you walked in," he smiled.

She smiled back as she sat on the edge of the bed making sure not to move it too much or bump Lee. "How are you feeling today?"

"A little better. It still hurts but I will be fine. Frank was in a few minutes ago to check on me. He's going to change the dressing and help me shave. I can't stand this beard any longer," Lee told her as he scratched his face.

"Good, you're looking pretty rough around the edges," she told him as she took his face between her hands and kissed him.

She sat on the bed holding his hand until Frank walked in. "What are you doing here this early? Jamie's going to be upset if he sees you," Frank teased.

"I know but I'll deal with him when he comes in," Janet answered back grinning. "Let me help you change his dressing."

"No problem. I noticed in the notes that you helped before. I'll get the items and be right back."

"You helped change my dressing?" Lee asked surprised.

"I'll have to do it when you're home so I figured they may as well show me what to do."

Frank brought in the bandages, tape and gauze pads and the two of them changed Lee's dressing. Lee looked at it and couldn't believe how long the incision was. When they were done, Janet took care of the old dressing while Frank helped Lee shave. By the time she came back they had half of his face done. He looked pretty funny with one side shaved and the other side still with beard. Janet sat down in the chair while Frank shaved the rest of Lee's face.

_He looks so much better,_ Janet thought. She stood up and went over to the bed after Frank left and rubbed her husband's cheeks.

"Feel better?" she asked kissing him again.

"Yes but that little bit of exertion has done me in," he yawned. "I'm going to take a nap. Will you be here when I wake up?"

Gently taking his hand in hers, "I've nowhere else to go," she told him as she settled in the chair and took her reader out of her purse and started reading.

((()))

The admiral and Chip came in about 0800 and knew Janet was there as her car was in the parking lot. "What time did you get here?" the admiral asked quietly noticing Lee was sleeping.

"About 0630, I couldn't sleep any more so I came here. Lee was awake when I got here. Frank and I changed his dressing and he shaved him. Just that little bit of movement tired him out so he fell asleep."

Jamie walked in the door to check on Lee and wasn't too happy to see the three of them at his bedside so early.

"Good morning," Jamie said irritated. "He needs to rest."

"He was awake when I got here. I didn't wake him up," Janet replied softly. "Sorry Jamie."

"Don't worry about it. How was he this morning?"

"He said he was a little better but after changing his dressing and getting a shave he was tired, so he went back to sleep. That was about 0700."

Jamie would wait until he woke up to check him over but his vitals were good so he was going to get him up and out of bed. He would be in pain but he needed to move.

As they were sitting there waiting for Lee to wake up the admiral's phone rang, "Yes Angie."

"Sir, I have Admirals Starke and Johnson here to see you."

"Johnson?" he questioned. "Starke wasn't going to be here until 1030."

"They came early sir," Angie whispered.

"Tell them we'll be right there," the admiral said as he hung up his phone.

"Admiral Starke is here early and why is Johnson here? Looking to recruit Lee already," Chip said sarcastically.

Sighing the admiral said, "Come on let's see what they want. We'll come back later."

The admiral and Chip left Lee's room. They each drove to the office in their cars in case the admiral got hung up with Admiral Starke.

Lee woke up a few minutes after they left as Jamie was checking him out.

"Lee, let's get you out of bed. I know its going to hurt but you need to move. Just take your time. Janet and I will help you. Lean on us for support."

Lee moved his legs to the side of the bed and let them dangle there for a few minutes. Janet could see he was in pain as he moved but he put his feet on the floor and slowly stood up. He walked gingerly to the chair next to the bed and eased himself down.

Taking a deep breath, "That sure wasn't fun," he said wiping away the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead.

"I can give you some pain medication if you want it," Jamie told him.

"Not now maybe later. I'm going to have to get use to some pain," Lee stated. "Jamie, when can I go home?"

"I would like you to stay at least a week. I'll take your sutures out before you go home. When you do go home you have to rest and going up the stairs is going to be difficult."

"Jamie, I will ask the admiral if I can stay home with Lee for a couple of days until we figure out how much he can handle. Then maybe I will work only half days," Janet said.

"I'll be fine by myself," Lee stated.

"No you won't stay alone. You'll try and do too much. I'll have Frank or John stay or check on you when Janet has to work."

Sighing loudly Lee replied, "I'm not two."

Jamie quipped back, "Then don't act like it."

"Alright, I'll do whatever you want so **I** can get back to work."

Jamie left Janet and Lee alone. She pulled up the other chair and they sat there holding hands.

"I don't think Jamie's going to let me get away with anything this time."

"No Lee he's not. You don't realize how close he came to losing you so please do what he asks," she begged.

"Yes sweetheart I promise I will," he replied giving her a kiss as she laid her head on his shoulder.

((()))

When the admiral and Chip arrived at the office as they exited their cars Chip said, "We never got a chance to have our meeting. What are we going to do?"

"We'll take what he gives us and work it out from there. You know the Navy is never very quick with getting things out so we might have a little more time before we need to leave. Hopefully by that time Lee will be better and can make the voyage with us."

They rode the elevator to their floor and got out of the car. They greeted Wanda who gave them a small grin back. Admirals Starke and Johnson were in the waiting area drinking a cup of coffee and eating the rolls Angie had brought for the admiral and Chip.

"Good morning Harry, Mr. Morton," Starke said smiling. "How's Commander Crane doing?"

"Better but he's still pretty weak and in a lot pain," the admiral replied looking at Johnson. "Gerald what are you doing in Santa Barbara?"

"I had a meeting in San Diego so I met with Wayne Kimball and he debriefed me on the mission. When I heard Admiral Starke was coming here I decided to come with and debrief Commander Crane."

"Damn, Gerald," the admiral said angrily, "the man almost died. You can't wait until he is feeling better to do this?"

"No. I need to send some more men into the complete the demolition of that laboratory. I know what Mr. Kimball told me but I need Lee's expert opinion so I know what and who to send to finish it," Johnson replied hotly. "Is there someone who can take me to him?"

"I'll call down to _Seaview_ and see who is available, sir," Chip told the admiral with a disgusted look on his face that Johnson or Starke could see.

Chip went to his office and called the radio man on duty and asked him to find Kowalski and send him up to the office.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Morton...Is the skipper okay?" Kowalski asked worriedly.

"Yes Ski he's doing better. Could you please take Admiral Johnson over to Med Bay? He needs to talk to the skipper."

"Yes sir but I didn't bring my car today."

The admiral came out of his office and heard what Kowalski told Chip.

"Kowalski, take my car to Med Bay," the admiral told him as he took the keys out of his pocket and handed them to him. "Stay there until Admiral Johnson is finished and then bring him back here."

"Yes sir," Kowalski replied, "this way Admiral." Kowalski followed Admiral Johnson to the elevators and pushed the button to the ground floor. They rode down in silence. Kowalski opened the car door for him and drove to Med Bay.

While Kowalski was leaving, Chip called Janet's cell phone. "Yes Chip. Everything okay?"

Talking softly, "Admiral Johnson is on his way to see Lee. He wants Lee to debrief him on the mission right now."

"Damn," Janet said furiously. "He's the last person Lee needs to see now. Thanks for the heads up."

After Janet got off the phone, Lee could see she was mad. She doesn't get mad to often but he could almost see steam coming out of her ears.

"What's wrong," he asked giving her hand a squeeze.

"Admiral Johnson is on his way over to see you. He wants to debrief you on the mission," Janet said angrily.

"Sweetie, calm down. It'll be okay," he told her gently. "Look on the bright side, if he debriefs me now, we won't have to go to DC."

"I know but he still makes me angry."

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Janet stood up, went to the door and opened it. Kowalski was standing there with Admiral Johnson. He looked in the room and when he saw Lee sitting in the chair he broke out in a huge grin. He returned to the lobby and sat down to wait for Admiral Johnson so he could take him back to the institute.

Lee started to get up to salute the admiral but Johnson could see he was in pain. "Commander, please don't get up. I know you are recovering from a gunshot wound. Mrs. Crane, it's good to see you again but I'm going have to ask you to leave while I debrief Lee. I hope you understand," Johnson said curtly.

"Yes sir," Janet replied tersely as she squeezed Lee's hand and walked out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Admiral Johnson sat down in the chair vacated by Janet and shook Lee's hand. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better. It will just take time to heal," Lee stated grimacing.

"I've talked to Wayne and he told me his version of what took place but now I need yours."

Lee explained to him what they did, how they did it and the outcome of the implosion. His version wasn't much different than Wayne's. Admiral Johnson explained to Lee that he was going to send in some personnel to make sure the laboratory was completely destroyed and buried.

While Janet waited for Lee and Admiral Johnson, she went to the waiting room where Kowalski was sitting. "Hi Ski."

'Hi Mrs. C. I see the skipper is up and out of bed. That's a good sign. The crew has been asking how he was doing so I can tell them he's doing better. They'll all be happy. I have to tell you, Mrs. C, the entire crew was very worried about him. They don't want to lose another captain."

"I know. We were very worried too. Please make sure to pass on that as soon as he's home and stronger they can come see him. He'll enjoy their company as he's going to be 'grounded' for awhile," Janet told him.

As they were sitting there talking, Jamie stormed over to them. "Who's with the skipper," he asked impatiently knowing Janet wouldn't leave him alone.

"Admiral Johnson," Janet replied grimly. "He's debriefing him on the mission and didn't want me in there. It's not like I don't know what happened."

"Damn," Jamie hissed. He left Janet and Kowalski sitting there while he went into the room. The two of them had smiles on their faces. They could see Jamie was pissed and as Lee's physician and in charge of Med Bay he could go in there.

"Excuse me," Johnson said unhappily as Jamie entered the room without knocking. "Who are you and this is a private conversation."

"I'm Dr. Will Jamieson, CMO of the institute and Commander Crane's physician and he's in no condition to be debriefed. I should have been consulted before you started to talk to him."

"Well Dr. Jamieson, I was here and I needed to find out what took place on the island. I'm done now anyway. As long as you're here, how soon will Commander Crane be able to return to ONI?"

Jamie barely containing his anger said, "Admiral Johnson, he almost died from his wounds. He needed five units of blood. He had three bullets wounds I had to take care off. He will not be able to return to ONI for at least four to six months."

"Dr. Jamieson that seems a bit excessive for recovery," Johnson stated arrogantly.

"Sorry admiral, that's my timeline," Jamie replied not intimidated by Johnson.

"Okay Dr. Jamieson. Lee, I will expect a typed statement from you in the next few weeks."

"Yes sir," Lee replied with a slight grin. "Good bye sir."

"Good bye, Lee, Dr. Jamieson." Johnson said as he walked out of Lee's room not too pleased with Jamie.

He knew his best agent wouldn't be back for six months after he had just returned from a six month leave of absence. He had an important mission he needed Lee for and now would have to find someone else to take his place. He went to the waiting room where Kowalski and Janet stood up when he came up to them.

"Please take me back to the office now. It was nice to see you again Mrs. Crane. I hope Lee gets better soon," the admiral said curtly.

"Thank you Admiral. Have a safe trip back to Washington."

Kowalski and Admiral Johnson walked back to the car. Admiral Johnson got in and Kowalski knew he was pissed. They drove back to the office where Kowalski opened the door for him. He could barely keep up with Johnson's pace as he got to the elevators. Admiral Johnson headed for Nelson's office with Kowalski following behind. He left the admiral's keys with Angie and went back to _Seaview._

Admirals Starke and Nelson along with Chip were just leaving the admiral's office after their meeting regarding the equipment the Navy would be supplying the institute so they could test out the new system.

"The Navy should be shipping the computers next week. They will also send the software programs," Admiral Starke told the admiral and Chip.

They saw Admiral Johnson sitting in Angie's office waiting for them. They could tell he wasn't very happy.

"Gerald, was Commander Crane able to provide you with the information you needed?" Nelson asked.

"Yes he was very cooperative until Dr. Jamieson barged in and gave me hell for debriefing him," Johnson responded harshly.

"Sorry Gerald but Dr. Jamieson's only concern is Commander Crane. He was very seriously wounded and is still recovering," the admiral replied, "had you talked to Dr. Jamieson first before your visit he might have cleared you to speak with him."

"He also said that he wouldn't clear him to return to ONI for at least four to six months. That seems a little extreme."

Nelson who didn't like when Lee went on ONI missions anyway told him sharply, "Gerald, if Dr. Jamieson says Lee needs that much time to recover you better believe it."

Chip and Starke could tell Johnson had pushed Nelson a little too far.

"Harry, I will let you know when we ship the computers to you. Come on Gerald, it's getting late, let's go. I need to be back for a meeting later this afternoon," Admiral Starke said taking his keys out of his pocket.

"Have a safe trip Jiggs, Gerald," Nelson told them as he went back into his office with Chip following him.

When the admiral got back in his office Chip remarked, "Admiral Johnson sure looked pissed."

"Sometimes he can be a real a..." the admiral started to say but was interrupted by Angie who had a phone call for the admiral. Chip left his office with a huge grin on his face.

((()))

After Admiral Johnson left, Janet returned to Lee's room, Jamie was still there and not happy. She could see Lee was tired and in pain. "Lee, let's get you back in bed," Jamie told him as he helped him up, settled him in bed and gave him some pain medication.

"I can't believe how tired I am just from moving that small distance and sitting there talking" Lee said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Just rest, I'll be here when you wake up," Janet told him as she covered him with the blanket.

He fell asleep a few minutes after Jamie gave him the medication; she knew he would be sleeping for about three hours. She wanted to check in at the office and pick up some work to do while she sat with Lee. She went to the desk to look for Jamie and saw him sitting in his office.

"Jamie, I'll be back before Lee wakes up. I'm going to the office and check out how much work there is to do. Maybe I can bring some back to work on while I sit with Lee. Thanks for taking on Admiral Johnson. I don't think he was too happy with you."

"No but I was very serious about how soon he can return to ONI," Jamie told Janet frowning.

Janet left Med Bay and went to the office. When Wanda saw her she thought something happened to Lee.

"No, he's sleeping right now. Admiral Johnson's visit tired him out. I'm just checking on all the work that needs to be done. Maybe I can do some of it while I sit there."

Janet went to Lee's office, took all the mail, and put the reports aside for later. Chip heard her in his office and went to see what she was doing. "Lee okay after Johnson's visit?"

"He's just tired and in pain," Janet replied as she put the mail in her bag. "I can sort through this while I wait."

"The admiral and I will be back later to tell him about the upgrades. I know he wants to be kept in the loop on what's going on."

Looking at her watch Janet told him "He should sleep for another two and half hours."

Janet left Lee's office and went into her office to get her mail. She filled her bag and went back to Med Bay. While Lee was still sleeping, Janet managed to sort through everything. The admiral and Chip came by about two hours later as Lee was just waking up.

"What happen at the meeting with Admiral Starke," Lee asked weakly.

Chip explained to him what Admiral Starke told him about the equipment and when it would get there. If the Navy sent the equipment on time and the refit on _Seaview_ stayed on schedule, it would be about four weeks by the time they would be ready to test it out.

"That's cutting it close for Lee to sail with us," the admiral said. "I really want Lee to be on the cruise."

"Well Admiral you know the Navy never ships things on time," Lee told him with a wry grin. "Maybe they'll be late and I can still go."

"We'll see," Jamie announced as he walked in the room and checked Lee's vitals.

"Admiral, can I stay home with Lee for a couple of days when he goes home? I can access my files from home using Lee's laptop if Chip will bring the files and reports home with him every day. Once we see how he can get along by himself, I'll come into work."

"Take as much time as you need," the admiral told her patting her arm.

The admiral and Chip went to _Seaview_ to check out what would need to be done for the refit. Admiral Starke had given them more detailed information so they were going to make sure everything would fit. Janet stayed with Lee the rest of the night, sleeping in the chair by his bed.

((()))

After another week in Med Bay, Lee was a little stronger so Jamie was going to let him go home but first he would remove his sutures. He carefully cut the knot and pulled out the thread. It took awhile as there were many to take out. The incision was healing very nicely and there was no sign of infection. So Lee's pants wouldn't rub on his bandage covering his incision, Janet brought him a pair of sweat pants with an adjustable tie so he would wear them low on his hips under his incision. Jamie made him leave Med Bay in a wheelchair because he was still in a lot of pain when he walked. Jamie and Chip helped him into the SUV which was no easy feat. After Chip and Janet got him out of the car and with Chip's help, he carefully and slowly walked up the stairs, stopping a few times to wait for the pain to subside. Once he was up there he would have to stay there as he was in no condition to go up and down the stairs. Even though he wouldn't admit it, by the time he got up there, he was tired and in pain. Chip helped Janet get him into bed and she gave him the pain medication Jamie sent home with him. After Chip left Janet locked the door, turned off the lights and went upstairs. Lee was snoring when she got upstairs to their bedroom. She got ready for bed and lay next to him. She wrapped her arm around his arm not wanting to put any pressure on his incision. She was glad he was finally home.

((()))

Lee had been home recovering for two weeks, it was late Monday morning and Janet was at the store when Jamie stopped by to check on his incision and do some blood work.

"Jamie, how long before it's healed," Lee asked impatiently.

"It will take about a month for the scabs to go away and about six months or more for the scar to fade," Jamie told him.

Sitting up and buttoning his shirt Lee asked, "When can I return to work?"

"I'll release you to return to work next Monday," Jamie told him, "And light duty only that means no climbing in torpedo tubes or lying under sonar and radar consoles."

Sighing Lee said, "That long," He was already bored at home and wanted to see how the refit was progressing.

"Sorry Lee," Jamie replied, "you may feel better but your body is still healing on the inside, so please just humor me this one time."

"Okay Jaime but I have one more question. Can I have...," Lee asked slightly embarrassed.

"Yes Lee you can," Jamie told the young captain knowing what he was going to ask him. "I'll let you know the results of you blood work when it comes back. You still need to take it easy and you will tire easily."

Janet had just pulled in the driveway and saw Jamie walking out of the house, "Is everything okay?" Janet asked worriedly.

"Everything is fine. Just wanted to check his incision," Jamie assured her patting her on the shoulder.

Breathing a sigh of relief Janet replied, "Thanks Jamie." Once inside the house, Lee surprised her taking her by the waist, pulled her close and kissed her passionately taking her breath away. Catching her breath she looked at her husband and saw mischief in his eyes. She took his face in her hands and kissed him back just as passionately. Taking her hand, they walked up stairs to their bedroom where they spent the rest of the morning in bed getting re-acquainted. It was early afternoon when they finally got up and showered.

As they finished their shower, "Let's go out for a walk on the beach," Lee suggested, "I've been cooped up long enough."

"That's a good idea," Janet agreed as she wanted to talk to Lee about a couple things.

They both put on t-shirts and shorts and walked down to the beach. As they walked hand in hand, Janet said, "Lee, remember my dream...well you were the person I was dreaming about. When they brought you to sick bay, I asked Jamie to please help you and not to let you die. Those were the words from my dream...everything in my dream happened but thankfully I didn't have to follow the instructions in 'the letter".

"I'm sorry to put you through all of that," Lee replied somberly as they turned around to walk back home after walking a couple of miles.

Sighing, "There something else," she continued, "Lee this last mission really scared me. I thought I was going to lose you forever. Since you survived six months without taking on any missions and Jamie isn't going to clear you for at least another four to six more months, I think you should give serious thought to getting out of field work. You've done more than your fair share of service to our country. Maybe you could participate in mission planning or preparing other agents for their missions if you still want to be a part of ONI. I want to grow old with you and have you around for our children we hope to have. I don't know if I could take another incident like this one. I won't say anymore on this but please give my concerns some consideration. I love you and never want to lose you."

"Okay, Janet, I'll think it over," Lee told her thoughtfully. _I guess I've been a little selfish when it comes to working for ONI_, he thought, _considering not just her but the admiral, Chip and the crew._ "I want to grow old with you too and be around for the children we _will have_ one day," Lee answered softly letting go of her hand, he put his arm around her waist and pulled her close as they continued to walk back home.

((()))

After they got home from their walk, Chip stopped over to report to him on how the refit was proceeding and was staying for dinner.

"We still haven't received the computers the Navy is shipping but they should be here by tomorrow. We're also running a little behind with the refit of sonar, radar and the radio. At this rate, you'll be back before we're finished."

Breaking out in a grin Lee replied, "Finally the Navy is working in my favor. Thanks for keeping me in loop as what's going on. How did Scott work out in the control room?"

"Lee, he and Bobby were life savers. They both came on duty hours ahead of schedule so I could be with you. They stayed well beyond their watches. Scott did very well for his first time out and under pressure. I would have no problem putting him in there again."

Janet brought out the meal and while they were eating dinner, Chip continued to tell them about upgrades. "I'm going to need Janet to help me with the software installation later this week since you're taking a break. She'll pay attention and not look around wondering what's going on in the control room," Chip teased. "Will that be a problem?"

"No, that should be no problem. I'll be able to stay here by myself," Lee told him knowing that Janet could use a break even if it was going to work.

Chip left a little while later amazed at how quickly Lee was recovering. He was actually looking forward to have him back on _Seaview_.

((()))

Lee had asked Chip to have Scott and Bobby stop by on their way to work one day as he needed to talk to them and wanted to do it before he went back on duty. They stopped by on Tuesday morning before reporting to Chip to help with the final details on the refit for the sonar and radar systems.

The doorbell rang, Lee answered the door and let Scott and Bobby in showing them into the living room. "Scott, I can't thank you enough for donating blood. Janet told me what you did and I really appreciate it. Mr. Morton told me both you and Bobby went above and beyond the call of duty while I was in sick bay. I will make sure I note that in both your records."

"Thanks Skipper. I enjoyed being in the control room," Scott replied smiling

"We'll see to it that you get more time up there."

"Bobby thanks for taking the lead in getting _Seaview_ home. I know Mr. Morton appreciated your extra help."

"No problem, sir. I was glad to help out."

Checking his watch Bobby said, "We better go. We don't want to be late. We're helping them refit _Seaview_ for the new equipment and you know how Mr. Morton can get."

"Yes, I've seen the look he gives you if you're late," Lee grinned.

As they left Janet also whispered thank you to both of them. All of the crew had stopped by except Kowalski, Patterson, Chief Sharkey and Riley. Lee figured they were busy with the refit and hadn't had a chance to stop by.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

By Thursday afternoon, the refit was almost complete and _Seaview_ would be ready to sail to test out the equipment next Monday just in time for Lee to report back to duty. Chip finished installing all the computers but would need Janet's help downloading the programs needed to run the equipment.

Lee and Janet were upstairs when Lee's phone rang. "Hi Lee is Janet around?" Chip asked, "I need her to report to work Friday morning about 0900 to help with the computers. She may have to work on Saturday if we don't finish. You'll be happy to know that we're going to be able to sail on Monday and test out the equipment just in time for you to report back."

"Perfect timing," Lee stated happily, "I'll tell her about reporting to work tomorrow. What are you doing tonight?" Lee inquired as he was getting quite bored at home.

"How about I come over this evening and we watch tonight's football game," Chip replied sensing that Lee was desperate for something to do. "Maybe we can win our money back from Janet. She's been busy so she hasn't had a lot of time to watch any games."

"Let me ask Janet. Hold on," Lee told Chip as he looked at Janet in the bathroom.

"Sweetie, Chip wants to come over and watch football tonight, is that okay with you?"

"Sure, ask him what he wants for dinner," Janet said to Lee, "is he trying to win his money back? If so, tell him he's going to lose again," she snickered.

"What do you want for dinner? And she says you're going to lose your money," Lee told Chip with a grin.

"I'll bring over dinner so she doesn't have to cook today," Chip volunteered.

"He'll bring dinner."

Thankful she wouldn't have to make dinner, Janet told Lee, "Tell him I want extra crispy chicken and potato wedges."

Furrowing his eyebrows he asked, "Janet, how do you know what he's bringing?"

"Lee, he always brings a bucket of chicken," she chuckled.

Lee told Chip what kind of chicken Janet wanted. Chip laughed when Lee told him as he was going to bring chicken.

"I'll see you about 1900 hours," Chip replied with a smile.

"Chip said we're going to sail next Monday to test out the equipment," he told her excitedly, "I can't wait to put on a uniform." Janet just looked at him and sighed deeply.

She went downstairs and outside to water her plants. Lee followed her outside and took a deep breath. The smell of the ocean made him feel good. He missed being on _Seaview_ helping out with the upgrades. At least he could see her bobbing in her pen when he looked out their bedroom window. Janet has caught him many times staring out the window at her when he couldn't sleep.

"Sweetie, your plants are looking real good. I didn't think they would last this long," Lee teased.

As they went back into the house Janet told Lee, "Honey, please just go sit on the couch. You need to rest up so I can take your money," she joked.

"I'm going to beat you this time and you're going to pay dearly," he smirked as he walked over to the couch and sat down.

Janet got out the plates, silverware, and napkins while Lee turned on the TV to watch the pre-game show. Maybe they would give him some insight on the game so he could beat his wife.

At precisely 1900 hours the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Lee told Janet as he got up off the couch and walked to the door. Lee was very surprised when he opened the door. There stood Chief Sharkey with a bucket of chicken, Patterson with two bags of side dishes, Chip with another bucket of chicken, Kowalski with a case of beer and Riley with a tray of brownies.

"Hi Skipper," Sharkey said happy to see he answered the door. "Hope you don't care we came over. Mr. Morton said you wouldn't mind some more visitors."

Smiling at his crewmen Lee replied, "Not at all. Glad you came."

Janet was in the kitchen when the men came in. She could see Lee was glad to see them. She got out more plates, and other items.

"Hi Mrs. C.," Riley said as he handed her the brownies, "The skipper looks real good."

"Hi Riley," she replied smiling, "he does look good." She really liked Riley as he was always in a good mood and had lot energy. The rest of the men greeted her and gave her the food. Chip handed her his bucket.

"Extra crispy as ordered," he quipped, "potato wedges are in one of the bags."

"Thank you Chip," she grinned looking at Lee as he talked with his crew. "Good idea to bring them with you. He was wondering where they were."

"They called and wanted to know if it was okay for them to come over," Chip told her. "I guess this will put a damper on our betting this week. Don't worry I'll get you next week," Chip boasted.

"You sound like Lee. It will never happen," Janet said with a wry grin. "Did you invite the admiral?"

"Yes, I called him this afternoon but he was going to visit some friends. I also asked Jamie but he's been at medical convention since Tuesday and won't be back until tomorrow."

She had put out the chicken, sides, beer and ice tea on the table where the men could help themselves to the food. They all filled their plates and sat down to watch the game. Janet smiled at Lee as he grabbed a beer. She stood in the kitchen and watched all of them as they ate, drank and watched football. These men were their family and she was happy they were there. She took her plate of extra crispy chicken and wedges and sat down at the dining room table watching the game. The men clearly had their favorite teams. They would cheer quite loudly when they scored. It's a good thing she didn't bet Lee and Chip today as the team she picked was losing. She had never lost a game to them. Both Lee and Chip looked at her and were mad knowing they would have finally beat her.

"_Sorry. Better luck next week,"_ she mouthed to them with a smirk on her face.

At half time Janet made a pot of coffee and put out the brownies. They finished the tray of brownies and she had to make another pot of coffee. Lee ate two brownies. He winked at her as he took the second brownie. He had lost a few pounds so she didn't mind he ate two. Once the game was over, the men helped Janet clean up.

"See you soon, Skipper," Kowalski said to Lee as they were leaving. He grabbed the garbage bag as he walked out and put in the can so Janet wouldn't have to do it.

"Thanks, Mrs. C. for letting us come over and watch the game," Patterson told Janet.

"I'm glad you came. I'll see you tomorrow, I'm working with Mr. Morton on the computers."

The men left but Chip stayed for a few more minutes. "Thanks Chip for bringing them over. I was wondering why they hadn't stopped by," Lee told Chip patting him on the shoulder.

"They were pretty busy with the refit. The four of them did most of the work on sonar, radar and the radio shack," Chip replied. Turning to Janet, "You sure got lucky today," he said sweetly.

"I know but better luck next week. I'll only lose once," she told him confidently.

"Chip, I think we might as well give up. We're never going to win," Lee piped in and winked at Chip.

"Maybe you're right," Chip conceded.

"Don't humor me. You'll bet next week and maybe I'll let you win," she teased.

Chip and Lee both smiled. She was too competitive to give in to them. Chip left a few minutes later walking down to his house. He looked back at their house and was relieved to know his 'brother' would be alright.

((()))

Lee and Janet woke up at little late since Janet didn't have to report to work until 0900. Lee watched as Janet got ready for work. _This is really funny,_ he thought, _she's going to work while I stay home._ Lee went downstairs to make breakfast for her before she left for work. There was knock on the door, Lee opened the door to find the admiral standing there with a box of proposals. He put the box on the dining room table so Lee wouldn't have to carry it.

"Good morning, Lee," the admiral said. "Chip said you were bored, so I brought some proposals for you to look over while Janet's at work. You're looking real good. Anxious to come back to work?"

"Thank you sir," Lee said eagerly as he quickly looked in the box. "I can't wait to get back to work. Would you like some breakfast? I was just going to make some pancakes for Janet."

"No thanks. I have a meeting first thing this morning with the accounting department. You know how I like those meetings," the admiral frowned as he walked out the door just as Janet came downstairs. She came into the kitchen as Lee made the pancakes.

"Was that the admiral...why didn't he stay?" she asked as she took two pancakes and a cup of coffee. She tried the pancakes and they weren't too bad but not nearly as good as Cookies. She noticed the box, went over to look in it and saw all the proposals.

"He had a meeting with accounting," Lee told her taking some pancakes. "He hates going to those meetings," he laughed.

"Lee, I don't know what time I'll be home," she told him as she kissed him goodbye, "please rest a little today."

Kissing her back tenderly, "Don't worry," he told her drinking his coffee as he went over to the box, pulled out a proposal.

Janet knew he would be reading those proposals all day. After watching her drive away, he cleaned up the kitchen and took the proposal to the couch and sat down with a cup of coffee. He didn't get very far into it when his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number but answered it anyway.

"Lee, it's Wayne Kimball. How are you doing?"

Surprised Lee answered, "I'm fine, Wayne. It's good to hear from you."

"Are you at work?"

"No I'm at home. I'm not cleared for duty until next week. What can I do for you?" Lee asked wondering what he wanted.

"I'm on my way to San Francisco and would like to talk to you. Can I stop by? I'll only stay a few minutes," Wayne told him.

Lee answered, "Sure. I'll make sure security lets you in. You'll have to show them your ID. What kind of car do you have?"

Wayne told Lee he was driving a black Jaguar and gave him the license plate number. "Good, I'll be there in ten minutes. Just give me some directions."

Lee told him which way to go when he got to the entrance at NIMR and then called security and gave them the information Wayne relayed to him. Wayne was knocking on his door ten minutes later.

"Hi Wayne, good to see you," Lee said after letting him in and shaking his hand leading him to the living room.

Returning the hand shake, "I'm very glad to see that you've recovered from your surgery. You really had all of us very worried. Is Janet around?" Wayne asked.

Grinning Lee replied, "No I sent _her_ to work today."

Looking Lee in the eye, "I just wanted to tell you thank you in person for saving my life. I don't know if I would have done what you did," Wayne said honestly.

"I'm sure if the tables were turned you would have done the same thing," Lee remarked softly.

As they stood in the living room Wayne said, "The admiral, Chip and especially Janet never gave up hope that you would recover. In fact your whole crew never gave up. I've worked with a lot of men and I've never seen such a close group of men work together. You're very lucky."

"I know I am very lucky," Lee replied smiling.

Wayne looked at his watch, "Gotta run, I've got a big job to scope out. Lee, I would work with you any time. If you ever need a demolish expert again..."

"I'll keep you in mind." Lee replied, "I'd work with you again too. Be safe."

"You too. Give Janet, the admiral and Chip my regards," Wayne told Lee as they walked to the front door.

"Will do," Lee answered as he opened the door for Wayne.

Lee stood at the door after closing it as he was surprised he stopped to see him. _He actually turned out to be a pretty nice guy and definitely knew how to implode a building, _Lee thought. He sat back down on the couch and finished reading over the proposal. He wasn't sure if he liked it so he put it in the maybe pile. It was late in the afternoon when Lee realized he hadn't eaten lunch. He went to the kitchen and grabbed an apple. It was too late to eat or he wouldn't be hungry when Janet got home. He had one other problem what was he going to make for dinner. He went back to the living room and decided he needed a nap so he put the proposal he was looking at on the table and stretched out on the couch where he fell asleep.

((()))

Janet entered the parking lot near the dock and parked in Lee's parking space. She noticed Chip's car was already there. She grabbed her purse, locked her car and walked to the sub pen.

"Hi Mrs. C.," Patterson said as she walked to the gangway. "Mr. Morton told me to wait for you."

"Thanks Pat," she replied as they walked down the gangway to the sail hatch. He went down the ladder and waited for her to come down helping her when she got to the bottom.

"Mr. Morton is in the technical room," Patterson mentioned as he went back up the ladder to the dock.

"Okay Pat," Janet replied as she walked to the technical room where Chip had all the computers booted up and ready to download the software.

Looking up from one of the computers he said, "Hi Janet, how's Lee this morning?"

"He's fine. He was reading a proposal when I left. He even made me pancakes for breakfast and they weren't too bad." Noticing all the installation disks Chip had laid out Janet asked, "How long do you think this is going to take?"

Breaking out in a smile he answered, "Maybe all day if we don't have any major installation issues. The newer computers should be no problem but the older ones may have a fit."

"Let's get started," Janet said as she put her purse on the counter and sat down at the first computer. Chip went over to the pile of disks and put one in. After a few seconds it booted up and the installation was going smoothly when all of a sudden it stopped. Sighing heavily Chip managed to get it going again. It took over an hour to download all the data on the new computer. They moved to the next one and more issues. This continued all morning when Chip finally had enough.

"Lunch time," he announced. "I need a break. I'm sure you need one and these computers need one too. Where do you want to have lunch?"

"Cafeteria works for me." Janet grabbed her purse and walked out of the technical room followed by Chip who grabbed his car keys out of his jacket pocket.

They walked out to the car and drove to the cafeteria with Chip muttering all the way. They picked up something light and ate pretty much in silence as Chip worked through the computer problems mentally. After quickly consuming their meal, they returned to Seaview and spent another four hours downloading the programs and had more problems.

After hitting another snag, Chip got up from the computer, stretched and declared, "We're done for the day. I can't look at another computer screen."

"We have another day of this?" Janet asked as they walked down the gangway to the dock.

"Afraid so and if it takes as long tomorrow as it did today, we could be here the next day too," Chip lamented.

"Goody," Janet chuckled as she called Lee.

((()))

"Hi Sweetie," he answered knowing it was her calling by the ring on his phone. "Are you on your way home?"

"We're just leaving now. Did you make dinner?" she asked hoping she wouldn't have to tackle that when she got home.

"No, I'm sorry I fell asleep. How about we go out? See if Chip wants to go too."

"Lee I'm sorry I don't feel like going out. I'm really tired could we just order a pizza?"

Surprised he said, "Of course. I'll do it now. Tell Chip to come too."

Janet looked at Chip. "We're having pizza so come over and eat so you won't have to worry about dinner either."

Chip accepted the invitation knowing he had no desire to tackle any other problem for the day.

While they walked to their cars Chip said, "The crew needs your help with something. Please make sure Lee doesn't get to _Seaview_ before 0800 on Monday. It's very important and don't ask why because I won't tell you."

Janet looked at Chip, "You're kidding right. He's so anxious to get back to work and on _Seaview_ I will have all I can do to keep him from getting there by 0500 but I will figure out some way to stall him," she replied shaking her head.

"Thanks, we knew we could count on you," he told her grinning knowing she was going to have a hard time keeping him home that long.

When they arrived, Lee met them at the door. He had a beer in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. Janet grabbed the beer while Chip took the wine. Lee stared at the two of them and laughed. "I take it didn't go very smoothly."

"No, but I'm sure glad you're not there. You would have left after the first hour saying a few choice words," Chip grinned giving Janet the wine and taking the beer from her. "At least Janet has some patience."

Lee cleared off the table and Chip and Janet sat down exhausted after jousting with the computers all day. As they sipped on their drinks, the doorbell rang, dinner had arrived. Lee got the door and paid for the pizza while Janet got out plates and napkins, grabbed Chip and Lee another beer but only some ice tea for herself.

"I assume you need to work tomorrow," Lee asked taking a bite of his pizza.

"Yes and maybe the next day," Chip told him yawning.

"Sorry, I really miss not being there with you," he snickered. He would normally have no problem being on _Seaview _but give him a torpedo tube to crawl in or console to work under before doing computer work. They finished eating, and cleaned up the dishes.

"Thanks for dinner. See you tomorrow at 0900," Chip said as he walked out the front door to his car for the short drive home.

"I'll be there. Maybe we should bring a pot of coffee tomorrow, you never know it might help," Janet laughed.

Janet went upstairs and got ready for bed while Lee made sure everything was locked up. By the time he got upstairs she was sound asleep. He never got a chance to tell her Wayne paid him a visit. He got ready for bed and quietly slipped in beside her, he gently kissed her cheek before wrapping his arm around her.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chip and Janet worked all day Saturday getting the downloads uploaded and the computers running smoothly so everything would work the sonar, radar and radio properly. Chip had Kowalski, Patterson and Sparks test the upgraded equipment to make sure it would work so they even had to work on Saturday too. Chip also installed an override in case something went wrong and they could revert back to the old systems. Janet was amazed how much technology Chip knew and if he didn't know it he could figure it out.

"Lee probably can't wait for Monday when he can go back to work," Chip said as they walked to their cars at the end of the day.

"Yes, he's getting antsy to get back. It's been a month since..." Janet couldn't finish the sentence.

"I know. It's hard to believe we almost lost him," Chip replied solemnly.

Janet shuddered at those words. "He told me to call him when we left today." Janet pressed the number one button on her phone.

"Sweetie, are you on your way home? Make sure Chip comes with you," Lee told her before she could say a word.

"Okay." Lee could hear Janet asking Chip to come too. "Yes, he'll come. Lee what's going on?"

"A surprise," Lee replied with a grin as he disconnected the call.

Janet looked at Chip and shrugged her shoulders s she had no idea what he was up to. She parked the car in the garage and pushed the button closing the garage door. Chip took his car home and would walk back up to the house. She walked in the door and smelled something very delicious. She put her purse in the closet, took off her shoes and put them by the stairs to take up when she saw Lee was in the kitchen wearing an apron and oven mitts.

"Lee what are you doing?" Janet asked suspiciously just as Chip knocked on the patio door and walked in. Chip did a double take when he saw Lee with the apron on. He could barely contain a chuckle.

"I've made the two of you a gourmet dinner. I got tired of watching the same TV shows, so I started watching the cooking shows that are on during the day. I've made beef wellington for us. I went to the store and got all the ingredients. Have seat at the table, dinner should be ready shortly. Chip, please pour the wine while I finish mashing the potatoes."

Chip did what he was told still staring at Lee in the apron. "Lee, all you need is one of those tall chef hats," Chip teased. Lee smiled at Chip and for a minute he thought Lee was going to put one on.

"Do you need any help," Janet asked going into the kitchen giving Lee a kiss.

"No sweetheart. I've got it covered. Just sit down and relax," Lee said as he shooed her out of he kitchen, "You too Chip."

Before Janet sat down she noticed how beautiful the table looked. Lee had set it with her grandmother's china and silverware and the wine goblets they got as a wedding gift. The china and silverware were one of the few things she brought with her when she moved from Illinois.

"Lee why are there four places set at the table?" she wondered as Chip held the chair for her.

"The admiral is coming over too. He should be here any minute. I invited Jamie too but he's still not home."

He no sooner finished telling them when the doorbell rang. "Don't get up, I'll get it," Lee said going to the door.

"Good evening Admiral," Lee said as the admiral walked in and he closed the door behind him.

The admiral stared at Lee, "Thank you for inviting me. Hello, Chip, Janet."

"Hello, sir," they replied noticing him staring at Lee as he walked over to the table.

He sat down and took a sip of the wine. Lee had picked out a very nice vintage to go with dinner. Not only did the food smell divine but it looked very good as Lee put the beef wellington on the table along with a large bowl of garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli au gratin. Lee sat down next to Janet and gave her hand a squeeze under the table.

"Dig in," Lee told them as he passed the potatoes to Chip and broccoli to the admiral. He sliced the beef wellington which was done to perfection.

They couldn't believe how delicious this dinner was. He almost put Cookie to shame. They finished everything that was on the table, much to Chip's disappointment there would be no leftovers for him to take home. Janet cleared the table when they were finished eating. She would wash the dishes by hand later as she didn't want to put them in the dishwasher. She looked at the kitchen and smiled, it was a disaster but she didn't mind as the dinner was excellent.

"Lee, maybe you should retire as captain of _Seaview_ and become a chef," Chip taunted.

"No thanks. I'm exhausted. Its hard work cooking a meal like this and I still made dessert," he told them as he brought out the brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Janet set out cups, saucers and dessert plates while Lee made the coffee. They ate their desserts and talked about the upgrades. Chip hoped there would be no problems when they left on Monday to test them.

"Lee, that was a very good meal," the admiral told him as he stood up to leave. "Admiral Starke is coming in for a round of golf tomorrow so I better get home and rest up so I can beat him this time. I ate way too much, maybe I should walk," he chuckled as he opened the door to leave. "Good night Chip, Janet." Before he left he gave Janet a kiss on the cheek.

"Good night sir," they answered.

"Let's clean up this mess," Chip volunteered as he started to put some of the dishes in the dishwasher as Janet washed the china and Lee dried. Before long the kitchen was back to normal.

"Lee, all kidding aside, that meal was fantastic," Chip remarked, "I'm still full."

"Thanks, Chip, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Lee replied back as Chip was leaving. "See you later."

Lee and Janet went to the living room and sat on the couch. She rested her head on his shoulders while he put his arm around shoulder and rubbed the top of it. "Honey that was one of the best dinners I've ever eaten."

"Thanks, it was a lot of work but worth it. You and Chip have been working hard so you deserved a reward," he replied nuzzling her cheek.

"How about I give you a reward for that dinner," she told him grabbing his hand and led him upstairs to their bedroom.

((()))

After Janet worked all day Saturday, they stayed home on Sunday and packed their duffle bags so they wouldn't have to worry about it on Monday morning. Jamie didn't want Lee to lift anything too heavy so Janet took Lee's downstairs. For some reason his was heavier than normal. He must have run out of uniforms on _Seaview_ and had to pack a few extra. She went back upstairs and brought hers down putting it next to the door with Lee's. Lee was like a child on the first day of school he was so anxious about getting back to work. Janet woke up during the middle of the night and saw Lee looking out at _Seaview_ bobbing in her pen. She smiled and fell back to sleep.

((()))

Even though _Seaview_ wasn't leaving port until 1100 hours, Lee was up at 0630 and hopped in the shower. Janet heard him in the shower but didn't want to get up just yet. She was still trying to figure out a way to stall him so they wouldn't get to the boat before 0800. She pulled the covers up when he finished with his shower hoping he would think she was still asleep. She peaked over the covers and saw him in his uniform and was just finishing tying his tie.

"Come on sleepy head, get up," Lee said as he patted the blanket Janet was hiding under before he went downstairs to brew some coffee and get them breakfast.

She sat up in bed; it was only 0700. _Now what,_ she thought. She grabbed her clothes and headed for the shower. She washed her hair which would need drying so that would kill fifteen minutes. She got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. The patio door was open and Lee was standing next to the white Adirondack chair with his back to her. The sun was shining brightly and the moss roses were in full bloom. When he heard her come in the kitchen, he turned around, his arms were crossed at his waist and he had a huge smile on his face. She went out to the patio and stood in front of him. He pulled her close, gave her a kiss which she gladly returned.

"Sweetheart, it's going to be a great day," he told her excitedly but then realized she wasn't ready to go. "You're not ready. I want to get there early so I can check out the changes they made before the crew comes on board."

"I'm sorry just running a little behind. Let's eat breakfast and I'll finish up quickly," she said calmly.

They sat down to eat their bagels and coffee. She lingered a little longer than necessary eating her bagel but could tell Lee was getting nervous. "I'll be down in a few minutes," she told him as she went upstairs.

She was finished getting ready by 0745. _Fifteen more minutes to kill_, she thought as she sat on the bed tapping her foot on the floor.

"Janet," Lee yelled sharply up the stairs, "Come on, of all days to run behind. I don't want to be late."

"I'll be right down. I got makeup on my shirt and I need to change it," she said quickly before he came upstairs to see what she was doing. She had stalled as long as she could. It was 0756 by the time she went downstairs. Lee was pacing by the front door.

"I'm sorry Lee. I know we're late but things just didn't go very smoothly this morning," she said apologetically giving him a kiss.

Janet grabbed the duffle bags and put them in the back of the SUV. He got in, started the car and gunned it out of the driveway. Janet had to hold on as he drove to the sub pen.

When they arrived at the parking lot, Lee noticed Kowalski was waiting there. They got out of the car and Lee opened the tailgate to get the duffle bags as Kowalski came over to the car to help them.

"What are you doing here," Lee snapped, "shouldn't you be on the boat getting her ready to sail."

Surprised at his tone Kowalski replied, "Mr. Morton asked me to help you with your gear, sir."

Softly Janet said, "Lee, don't be mad at him because I was late. He's only doing what he was asked to do."

"Sorry Ski," Lee apologized as he helped Kowalski take the gear out of the car. Kowalski picked up both of their bags while Janet took Lee's briefcase and Lee locked the car.

They walked down to the dock area and Lee stopped. Lined up on the dock, gangway and _Seaview_'s deck was all one hundred and twenty five crewmen. Chief ordered them to attention. As Lee walked down the gangway, they saluted him as he passed by them.

He whispered to Janet, "Is this why you were _late_ this morning?"

"Yes sir," Janet answered with a grin.

He took her hand and walked to the quarterdeck where the admiral and Chip were standing. Chief put the men at parade rest.

Taking a deep breath Lee asked, "Permission to come aboard, sir."

"Permission granted," the admiral said with a smile. He shook Lee's hand as the crew started clapping. Chip shook his hand too.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Janet whispered to him, "This time is so much better than the last time you left _Seaview_; they stood at attention as you were carried off the boat to an ambulance."

Lee stood on the deck looking at his crew, he was very proud to be their captain. He entered the sail hatch and climbed down the ladder to the control room and as usual he helped Janet down the ladder. The admiral and Chip followed her down and stood next to Lee as he looked around the control room. He could see the changes made to sonar, radar and the radio shack. He would check them out later after they got underway.

"Thank you Admiral. That was quite a welcome back," Lee said his voice filled with emotion.

"Lee, I had nothing to do with it. It was your crew," the admiral replied patting him on the back. "We're glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back," Lee replied as he stood at the bottom of the ladder and shook every crewman's hand as they came aboard. By the time he was finished it was time to shove off. He and Chip went up to the conning tower.

"Mr. Morton, prepare to shove off," Lee told Chip with a huge smile on his face.

"Aye, aye sir," Chip answered enthusiastically.

Chip directed the dock crew to release the lines holding _Seaview _to the dock and pulled up the gangway.

"Engine room," Lee said over the mic.

"Engine room aye," they responded promptly.

"All back dead slow," Lee ordered as _Seaview_ slowly left the dock and headed down the channel to the ocean.

Lee and Chip stayed in the conning tower until they cleared the breakwater and were in the Pacific. They returned to the control room and as usual Lee jumped down the last two rungs of the ladder. When he got down, Jamie and Janet were waiting for him. Jamie had the all important 'return to duty' paper with 'light duty' in bold type, underlined and highlighted which he forgot to get before coming aboard.

"Sorry Jamie. We were running a little late today," he said smiling as he looked at Janet.

He took the paper from him and gave it to the admiral who took the paper, initialed it and gave it to Janet so she could put it in Lee's burgeoning file of 'return to duty' forms.

"Mr. Morton let's dive the boat and test out our new equipment," Lee said eagerly.

"Yes sir," Chip replied issuing the orders to dive and _Seaview_ gently glided under the sea where she would spend the next three weeks testing out the new sonar, radar and radio systems.

All was back to normal on _Seaview_ for now.

The End.

Thank you for reading this story and I hoped you enjoyed it.


End file.
